The Perfect Summer
by SuzieQuaKes
Summary: AU - Beaches. Boys. Friends. Parties. Love. Jealousy. Heartbreak. Tears. Is this really the perfect summer a girl could have? Contestshipping/some MayxOC
1. Sea City, Here I Come

**A/N: Heyy! Here's another chapter fic… Yeah, yeah, I know, I have to finish my old ones first. But well, when you got an idea, it just makes you wanna write it out. Five stories going at once isn't so bad, is it? Yup, not so bad. **

**Disclaimer: I don't think you guys (and girls) are dumb enough to think I own Pokemon. Am I right? **

**Chapter 1 – (May's POV) **

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Yes, the day had finally arrived. The day high school was over for summer vacation. And to top things off, my Aunt Vicki invited me to Sea City. In case you didn't know what Sea City was, it's a big island near the ocean. My Aunt Vicki lived there with her husband and she had told me over the phone that it was an awesome place with a huge beach. The only problem was getting the permission from my ever so strict parents who forbid me from doing anything.

"May, I just think you're too young to go there alone," my dad said, frowning slightly. I had mentioned the invitation casually over the morning breakfast.

"But Dad, there's Aunt Vicki, Mom's sister. And I think that you should at least trust your sister-in-law," I replied, exasperated. I was already seventeen and my parents, especially my dad, think of me as seven. Dad pursed his lips and looked down disgustedly at his steaming cup of coffee.

"Victoria isn't actually in the list of people that I trust. She's the wildest thing I've ever seen," Dad said, shaking his head. I got to admit, Aunt Vicki was pretty much on the wild side. She wore the most outrageous outfits and once Mom had told me that she tried to run away with the circus when she eight. But that didn't stop me from thinking she was the coolest aunt ever.

"Your dad has a point there, May. Vicki isn't actually a very… how do you say… _responsible_ person," Mom added as she poured herself a second cup of coffee.

"Good thing I'm just staying home and reading the whole summer," my little brother, Max chimed in and I shot a dirty look at him.

"But Mooom, you haven't even seen her since she left for Sea City and that's been at least four years! She might have been wild before, but maybe she matured a bit," I replied, resting my chin over my palms in an exasperated expression and trying to be as patient as possible.

"May Maple! Get that look of exaggerated patience off your face. We're just worried for your own good," Mom said, frowning. I sighed.

"Mom, come on! You know that I'm a responsible person. And I can look after myself. All my friends are going away this summer, I don't want to be the only one stuck in this town," I replied.

"I'd feel so much better if you were going together with us," Dad said quietly. Yes! They were gaining around; this was the first time they mentioned anything about me going there at all.

"But Dad, you have lots of work to do. And it'll cost so much more if we all go there," I answered. Mom and Dad exchanged looks and then turned to me.

"Do you promise that you'll be responsible and to live by the rules which we'll give you?" Mom asked her brows raised so that they formed a hedge across her wide forehead.

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll live by whatever rules you give!" I said excitedly.

"Okay then, here they are: 1) You are not allowed to go swimming before 9 AM and after 5 PM. 2) You are not allowed to go out after dark, until or unless your Aunt Victoria is with you. 3) You are not to be friends with any boys there. 4) You are not to wear your bikini. Even if you do, at least wear something over your top and bottom. 5) Stay near the lifeguards when you go into the water. 6) Watch what you eat, you know you're allergic to crabs. 7) You're not going, until I find some experience doctors there. 8) Call us everyday at 6 PM, if we don't get your call, we'll call you. And 9) Please don't come back all wild like Victoria," Dad said, and smiled, "Okay?"

I was a bit disturbed by the boys rule and the bikini rule, but I thought I could manage for the others, "Sure!"

Mom took a deep breath, "Are you sure you really want to go?" I inwardly rolled my eyes; please don't get all teary like you did when I went off to summer camp, I thought to myself.

"Yes, Mom… But I'll miss you, all of you guys," I said with a sweet smile. Excluding Max, I mentally noted to myself.

"Aww… gee sis, I'd miss your loud snoring in the morning too," Max added with a charming little smile.

"How would you like to have bruises all over your body?"

Mom smiled, "Well, I guess I'd better get your tickets. When are you going exactly?" I thought for a while.

"Um…the day after tomorrow?" I wanted to get there _fast_.

"Why so soon, sweetie?"

"Uh… I just, you know, wanted to have enough time to do everything I wanted before vacation was over," I replied.

"But May, you have two whole months of summer vacation. I think you have plenty of time to do the things you want," Dad told me.

"Yeah but… please?" I asked, smiling a sickly sweet smile.

"Okay," Mom said finally, "I'm going over in the afternoon to get your tickets. Pack everything up and be sure to call your Aunt," Mom told me as she got up and started to clear the table. I let out a relieved sigh and smiled to myself, so this was it. I was finally getting away from home. Hot beaches and hot guys, here I come.

..:-:..

"May, are you sure you have everything?" Mom asked me as I struggled to carry my two heavy duffel bags. We were at the airport and Mom was doing last minute checkup.

"Yeah," I replied, breathlessly. Toothbrush and toothpaste, my hot new red bikini, sun block, two pairs of cool sunglasses, my five new sundresses, a visor, my lucky penny, makeup… yep, I had everything.

"Okay, this is it. Be safe honey. Do you have enough cash with you?" Dad asked me.

"I have… thirty bucks. That's what left of my allowance," I answered. The bikini and sunglasses cost me quite a lot.

"Here take some cash," Dad replied, thrusting a wad of twenty dollar bills in my hand.

"Thanks," I whispered, a lump coming to my throat.

"Oh, I'm gonna miss you," Mom said and hugged me tightly. I sniffed; tears were seriously coming to my eyes.

"I'm gonna miss you too," I replied. When she was done, Dad hugged me and I felt the tears coming again.

"Be good, sweetie," he muttered.

"I will," I replied as he pulled away. I turned to Max, "Well bye, don't go into my room while I'm gone. And take care of Mom and Dad for me."

"Sure, you can always trust me," he replied and I hugged him. Yeah, he was a little jerk sometime, but I was going to miss him all the same. When I pulled away I swore I saw some tears in his eyes. I smiled at my teary family.

"Bye everyone, I'll be sure to follow your rules. And I promise I'll call once I get there. Don't worry, I'll be fine," I told them as Mom sniffed into a Kleenex.

"Bye May," my family said and I waved at them before heading into the terminal. As I boarded the train and sat down at my seat, I got the fluttery feeling in my stomach, I was finally going to Sea City.

..:-:..

"Oh May! I can't believe you grew that much! You're almost taller than me!" my Aunt Vicki exclaimed as she took me in a huge bear hug. I grinned at her when she pulled back. She didn't look the least bit like Mom. While Mom had brown hair, she had blond that seemed lighter than before due to the time she spent in the sun. She was wearing a totally cool white sundress showing off her tan with a pair of brown cowboy boots. She was wearing two jangly earrings in one ear and three silver studs in the other. Her hair was tied with a tie-dyed bandanna, there was a huge cheetah print sunglasses on her head, and on her wrist were hundreds of different colored bangles. She was totally cool.

"Aww, Aunt Vicki, you haven't changed a bit!" I told her as we walked out of the airport and hopped onto her multicolor painted Jeep.

"Well, I've become older," she said with a laugh and started the engine, "And so did you. I can't believe you're already seventeen. One more year and you are officially an adult."

I smiled at her, "I can hardly wait." She smiled back in return and we drove down the smooth road. The place was awesome. I saw the boardwalk and the beach where there were tons of people. I saw casinos, the Miniature Golf, Trampoline Land where lots of little kids were enjoying themselves, three ice cream parlors and thousands of little souvenir shops.**(A/N: I actually got these descriptions from when we went to Atlantic City and also from BSC book.)** It was great, I could hardly wait to explore.

"So how does it feel to live in such a cool place?" I asked Aunt Vicki, who smiled.

"I think it's more of a _hot_ place," she told me and we laughed, "But it's pretty nice here, the people."

"So where's Uncle Bryan?" I asked. Uncle Bryan, Aunt Vicki's husband, was a pretty cool guy. He worked here as a marine biologist.

"He's at work; he'll usually come home at about 6."

"So what does a marine biologist have to do?" I asked. Call me dumb, but I have no idea what he really does.

"Eh, just hanging out at the beach everyday," she said casually.

"Really?" I asked, impressed. What a great job!

"Don't get your hopes up, kiddo, I was joking," Aunt Vicki replied, as I inwardly sighed, figures. "There's this wild piece of land in the corner of this island. Believe me; it's very different than this beach and this city. It's surrounded by all kinds of wild creatures and he has to go and study the creatures and plants in the water."

"And?"

"I don't really know. All I know is that he gets paid pretty well," Aunt Vicki replied, grinning. I giggled, Aunt Vicki was different from the other grownups, err… older people. She treated everyone as if she was talking to her best friend.

"So here we are. Your home for two months," she announced as we pulled up at a white little cottage overlooking the ocean. It had a wide front porch, a little veranda and there was a green little garden at the back. What a romantic house! I got out of the car and gazed at the house admirably.

"It's perfect!" I exclaimed. Aunt Vicki smiled at me.

"I'm glad ya think so." She opened the front door and inside it was even better. The little kitchen was spotless; there was a small den, a living room with a 24" TV and a little redbrick fireplace. All the bedrooms were up the stairs. I dropped my duffel bags and walked around the house, admiring everything.

"Why don't we see your bedroom, kiddo?" Aunt Vicki asked me and I nodded in response. She took me to a small corner room and opened the painted wooden door. My room was marvelous. The walls were covered with white wallpaper with small roses adorned on it. The wide window was open and the room was vast and airy. There was a little wooden bed at the side and a mahogany closet at the other side. Between the bed and the dressing table was a small nightstand with three drawers. A worn out red rug was laid out. The room was as romantic as the other parts of the house.

"Oh Aunt Vicki, it's beautiful! Thanks so much!" I exclaimed as I hugged her.

"We spent extra time thinking to make you feel at home," she said once we pulled away, "You should get some rest. Take a shower and change, then why don't you hit the beach? It's not more than a 3 second walk from here."

"Sounds fantastic," I agreed and Aunt Vicki went out of the room, closing the door behind her. I threw myself on the bed and took out my red cell phone, dialing my house number. This was going to be a perfect summer.

A few minutes later, I walked down the stairs, wearing my pink sundress with little Hawaiian flowers on it. My bikini was underneath, the red straps visible. My hair was in a ponytail and I was wearing yellow flip-flops, "So how do I look?" My aunt, who was sitting down on the couch, reading, looked up and smiled.

"Hot," she replied, "You look like you're ready to hit it. Did you take your sunscreen? I don't wanna call your Mom saying that her daughter has turned into a tomato."

"I brought it," I answered, holding up my tote bag, "So can I go now?" Aunt Vicki nodded and I happily went out of the house. She was right, the beach and the cottage was so close. Once I got to the sand, I took out my sundress, exposing my bikini. I felt a bit self conscious at first, but then I shrugged; almost every girl was wearing it too. I walked over to the water, and on the way there, I saw that lots of teen-aged boys were looking at me or wolf whistling.

"Hey there!" someone called out and I turned in that direction. It was one of the lifeguards. But they were pretty different from the ones back at my local swimming pool. They were around my age and they were hot. The one calling out to me was a guy with blond wavy hair. I walked over to him casually.

"What?"

"Did anyone tell you that you're a cutie?" he asked grinning. He had blue eyes and was pretty cute but the one beside him was cuter and hotter. He had a head a chartreuse hair and a pair of stunning emerald eyes. He was a total hunk.

"Not that I know of," I replied, "So who are you?"

"I'm Steve Boswan and this here is my friend, Drew Hayden," he answered, pointing to the guy beside him. He merely looked in my way and nodded.

"Don't mind him; he's a total cold guy. He never says hello or hi," Steve replied, "He's sorta an outcast," he whispered to me. I looked at the Drew guy; he was hot, no doubt, but an outcast? I don't think so. I turned my attention back to Steve.

"Nice to meet cha. I'm May, May Maple," I said and smiled.

"Pleased," Steve replied. I looked back at Drew; he was sort of staring off to space. What a weird guy.

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**A/N: Yay!! First chapter done! Whatcha think? It's long (2704 words), so I expect at least 10 reviews! Pleeeaseee… for once, okay? I hoped my first chapter wasn't dragging; I just didn't want it to seem rushed. ;D You know what to do people! It's the best word in the dictionary! **

**Later!**

_Suzie :o)_


	2. Teddies

**A/N: Here's a new chapter! But before you read it, I have some things I'd like to ramble on about. Please, bare it with me: **

**First things first, I did NOT get the ten reviews I sought. –sniff- Oh well. I always get only five or six reviews for a chapter. It's not very new to me. Secondly, I'd like to kindly thank –Kaidee-1 for an awesome review and for naming this story, "story of the moment." That's nice of you. Thirdly, I thank all of you who DID review. This got 59 hits and guess what? Only five reviews. 54 people just 'lurked'. Sigh. Fourthly, thanks to Azngrlelizabeth for putting this in her C2. And lastly, thanks delcatty546 for trying to give me ideas. You're the best buddy anyone could ever wish for.**

**Congrads, you survived the rambling. As a reward, here's the second chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon and probably never will. **

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**Chapter 2 – (Drew's POV) **

I shook my head in dismay as I watched Steve flirt with another girl. He was a master at pickup lines and the thing was – girls actually fall for those. Today, he had used the same lines on six girls and I was getting bored out of my mind, hearing those cheesy lines over and over again. The girl he was flirting with right now, I admit, was actually kind of cute. She had shiny brown locks and twinkly blue eyes. Her name was May, I think. She giggled at something Steve said and I noticed that she was really pretty – mind you, I don't like her. Honestly.

"Do you have a map with you?" I heard Steve saying as I rolled my eyes, "Cause' I could get lost in your eyes." I whispered along with him. Couldn't he come up with any originality?

I sighed as I slumped in my high chair and watched in boredom at the vast ocean in front of me. Sure, getting a job at the cool beach like this was awesome and you get a great tan, but it was really boring. Nobody really needs help anyway. I couldn't wait until it was five, when my shift was over for the day.

"Hey Drew," Steve said and I turned to look at him. "C'mon, join into the conversation."

"From what I've seen, I think you've got the pickup lines by heart," I replied.

"I'll just take that as a compliment," he answered. "May and I were thinking of trying out that new ice cream parlor on the boardwalk. Care to join us?"

"We have our shift, remember?"

"When we're done, of course," Steve replied, "C'mon, it'll be fun."

I thought it over. I don't think 'fun' would be the word; 'boring' would suit better. But if I didn't go, he would bug me for the rest of the week, saying of what I missed out on. I agreed hesitantly and May smiled at me.

"I think I'll go take my first swim here. I'll see you guys later," she said and with a small wave, she ran out to the ocean, leaving Steve stare after her with a dreamy smile on his face.

"Don't tell me you're in love, _again_," I said, noting that expression. Throughout the first week of summer vacation, he had claim that he fallen in love for four times. It was all a big bore to me.

"No, Drew," he replied, "This girl's different from the others."

"You always say that, lover boy. But none of those relationships ever work out. Just be practical," I told him but he shook his head.

"I think you're the one that needs to be practical," Steve replied. "You need to get out of that mood. It scares hot girls away."

"I _want_ to scare them away," I answered.

"Oh come _on_, man. You've got the looks, the body; make the best of it," Steve told me, flashing his signature lopsided smile. "Unless, of course, you're not interested in girls."

"Are you trying to tell me I'm gay?"

"Guess."

"Well I'm not gay, buddy. I'm just a guy who keeps to himself and is proud of that," I answered. "Have a problem with that?"

Steve shook his head. "Suit yourself. I'm gonna make the best of my cool job, though. I'll come see you with my wife when you're forty-five and living with an old dog."

"Very funny," I replied, rolling my eyes. Surely, that won't happen... right?

--

"Wow, May, you look great tonight," Steve said, grinning. May smiled back and tinted a bit.

"Thanks."

I slumped in the cushioned chair. Yeah, I always slouch when I'm uninterested with something. We were at the new ice cream parlor, Wonder Ice. What a tacky name. The small blond waitress took our orders and left us to ourselves.

"So... I never heard you saying anything, Drew," May remarked. "You don't like to talk?"

"I don't like to talk without a certain topic," I replied coldly.

"Why?"

"I don't know. Plus, I don't think I'm very much needed in conversations between you two," I answered.

"That's nonsense. It's interesting if we all talk, don't you think so?" She was persistent on the subject and I finally gave up.

"Okay, fine. I'll talk too," I answered.

"Congrads May, you're the first girl I know who can make him talk," Steve said, still grinning. I flashed him a death glare and May seemed to be slightly pink.

"Forget about that guy," I told her, "He thinks he's great."

"Oh thanks, buddy," Steve replied, "I love it when people say nice things to me."

"Anytime," I responded and was about to say something more when the Nokia tune blared out. Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, answering it.

"Oh mom," he said and paused for a while. "Right now? Okay, okay, I'll be there." He turned to us with a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry guys. That was my mom; she said I needed to be at home. I have to go," Steve said. "Drew, eat my ice cream for me and tell me how it tasted, okay? We'll hang out some other time, May. See ya guys later." Giving us a small wave, he disappeared out of the shop, leaving the brunette and me to ourselves. The waitress returned and gave us the ice cream dishes and we ate in silence. I could see that May was feeling awkward and so was I.

"So, um, when did you arrive to Sea City, May?" I asked, trying to get rid of the uncomfortable silence. May looked relieved.

"Just today, actually. My aunt invited me to her place and I'm staying here for my summer vacation," she answered as I nodded.

"Oh, really? Aren't you tired from the long trip?"

"It's not that long. I live in Petalburg. It's only a half an hour plane ride," May replied, "But I do feel pretty worn out."

"I'm finished with my ice cream," I said, "Do you wanna get going?"

"Sure," she replied and after paying for the ice cream, we walked out of the shop. The boardwalk was packed with people walking here and there, playing games, looking at souvenir shops and there was a long line at the Miniature Golf. May looked awed by the sight of so many people and she had a smile on her face as she looked around.

"Wow, it sure is crowded here," she remarked, wearing a soft smile.

"It's always like that. You get used to it if you see it everyday," I replied and paused before continuing. "Isn't there this much people in Petalburg?"

"Well, not in one place," May answered. "Do you live here?"

"Obviously. It's not this crowded after summer, you know, and it's actually a pretty calm place in the winter," I said, stuffing my hands in my pockets.

"Ooh! Look! A candy shop!" May exclaimed as she ran to a shop that was filled with candies of all sorts. I rolled my eyes and reluctantly followed her inside 'Candy Haven'. She smiled eagerly as she looked at all the different choices of rainbow candies and took forever to make her choice. At last, she chose some chocolate fudge teddies and when she got to the counter, she gasped.

"Oh no. I don't have any money with me, Drew," she whispered to me. "Could you please... pay for me? I promise I'll give you back later." I sighed and was about to protest but that was before she looked at me with her wobbly sapphire eyes. Sighing again, I took out my folded leather wallet and took out some bills. After paying for them, we walked out of the shop and May began to admire all the sights again. I had to admit, her childish bubbly nature was pretty cute.

"Who would go out without money?" I asked, just for the heck of annoying her. She looked at me and frowned.

"Well I didn't know that I needed money because Steve said the ice cream was his treat," she answered.

"But still – you should at least know that you needed money wherever you go," I replied, pretty much enjoying making her irritated.

"Well maybe I forgot, Mr. Perfect," May fired back, pouting.

I couldn't help but crack an amused smirk. "Tsk tsk, some people are really dense these days."

"Are you calling me stupid?!"

"I let you have one wild guess," I replied, enjoying this moment more and more.

"Pfft, I'm not dense; I just had a lot on my mind," May said, raising up her head.

"Hey," I said, looking at a game, "Why don't we play that?"

May looked in the direction I was pointing and nodded eagerly. "It looks like fun."

We walked over and watched for a while. It was the kind of game where you had to throw little darts to pop balloons and when you did, you get prizes. I had played since I was a little kid and I was pretty good at that, even though some were cons. We waited until it was our turn and May went first. None of her shots popped the balloon and she sulked.

"Humph, it's rigged," she told me and I gave her a smirk.

"Let's just wait before we jump to any conclusions," I said and stepped forward to take my three darts that the lady gave me. Aiming carefully, I threw it and it popped the green balloon. I smiled to myself and shot the second and third. All of my shots popped the balloons and I turned to May with a pleased smirk. She turned her lower lip and let out a small 'humph'. Chuckling, I turned back to the lady who smiled.

"Congratulations," she said and held out a huge teddy bear, "Here's your prize." I halfheartedly took it and turned back to May. Her lip was still turned up and I smirked again.

"Come on, save the jealousy for later," I told her. "We need to get going if you want to get home before dark." She nodded in response and we started walking down the boardwalk again. After a few minutes, we reached the little white cottage that she said was her aunt's place.

"Thanks for the evening, Drew," May said, turning to me with a smile. "I enjoyed it and tell Steve that I'm sorry he had to go home so early."

"Sure," I replied, "See you tomorrow?"

"Mm-hmm," May answered, "I'll see you tomorrow." I nodded and she gave me one last smile before turning to walk to the house.

"Hey May?"

She turned and quirked a brow, "Yeah?"

"Umm, here," I said holding out the teddy. "Take this; I don't really want it anyway."

May looked at me with a puzzled expression and took the toy gingerly. "Really?"

"Yeah, I think I don't really need a teddy," I told her. "And if you want it, you can have it."

"Thanks Drew," May said, breaking into a wide smile as she held it to her chest. "It's so cute!"

I gave her a smile and she waved at me before running into the house. I had to admit, Steve was right. This girl was far different than the other girls.

* * *

**A/N: Awww... how sweet is Drew! xD Review everyone, okay? Chocolate teddies and real big teddies to everyone who do!**

**Till Next Time!**

_Suzie :o)_


	3. Double Dates?

**A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews! I got 9 this time. x) Anyway, on with the su-tor-ree. xD **

**Dedications to: ALL MY FRIENDS! Lorry, Piku, Patti, Julia and all those others who are sweet to me, thanks for being such good friends! **

**Disclaimer: -Gasps- I own Pokemon! Oh wait, it was a dream. -.-;; **

**Chapter 3- (May's POV) **

I hurried inside the cottage and closed the wooden door, wearing a huge smile as I gazed at the plain mahogany entry. In its place was the face of a stuttery Drew, holding out the bear and saying that I could have it. My smile became wider as I carefully caressed the wooden door and thought of how perfect this summer was being.

"I really appreciate you giving the door so much affection, but you have to call your parents and have dinner," I heard a voice say and I quickly turned to see my aunt in a dark green paint splattered tee with the words 'Beverly Hills' on it and khakis that were torn all over the place. She quirked a brow at me and I scratched the back of my head and laughed nervously.

"Uh... yeah... I think I'll go change," I said quickly and tried to head upstairs but my aunt pulled me back.

"Where did you get the bear?"

_Crap. I hope she wouldn't be all like mom and dad and ask so many questions concerning about hanging out with boys. Oh wait. Dad told me a rule that I wasn't allowed to be friends with guys. Ugh, I'll worry about that later_.

"Um... my friend gave me," I replied, smiling sweetly. "Did I tell you that you look awfully nice today?"

"May, kiddo, save the compliments," Aunt Vicki said, "Your '_friend_' was a boy, am I correct?"

"Uh... sorta?" I squeaked and surprisingly, my aunt laughed.

"Oh May, you just arrived today and your already having a boyfriend! Are you sure you grew up with ultra strict parents like Caroline and Norman?!"

_Okaayy, so that was completely unexpected. Oh well, at least she wasn't blowing her top off like Dad would be. _

"Aunt Vicki! I'm not having a boyfriend! One of the lifeguards asked me in a _friendly_ manner to go to the new ice cream place. And the lifeguard who is his friend, gave me this in a _friendly_ way," I explained but my aunt's teasing grin never vanished.

"You're just like your mother! Caroline met Norman when she went to the Bahamas for vacation with mom and dad. Norman was also on vacation and sparks flew! Oh, I remember how I had to sneak her out for a date with him..." Aunt Vicki said, smiling as she recalled the memory.

_Wow. Mom met Dad at the Bahamas? I never knew that. Aren't parents supposed to tell stuff like these to their children?_

"That's great, Aunt Vicki. But I'm hungry and I want to change so um..."

"Oh right, go ahead to your room and come down for dinner. There're some people that I'd like you to meet too," Aunt Vicki remarked.

I nodded and ran up to my room. Carefully closing the door, I smiled at the brown bear, it had a red ribbon tied at the neck and the ears were furry and soft. It was such a cute little teddy. I wonder why Drew didn't want it. But I guess boys are weird. I walked over to the dressing table and delicately sat the bear. Then I dug into the bag that was full with chocolate teddies and popped one into my mouth. Chewing and humming, I stepped into the shower.

--

_I need a miracle. I wanna be your girl.._. I sang softly as I made my way down the stairs. I skipped to the kitchen where the round dining table was and immediately halted when I saw two unfamiliar people seated at one side. Maybe they were the people my aunt wanted me to meet. I took my place beside Uncle Bryan and Aunt Vicki was seated beside him. Uncle Bryan turned to smile at me. He had cropped sandy hair and twinkly hazel eyes. He also had a great sense of humor.

"Hey May. It's been a long time since I last saw you. You've grown lots," he said and I smiled back.

"Really? I've been getting that a lot."

"May, these are the people I wanted you to meet," Aunt Vicki said, motioning her hand to the two strangers. "This is Mrs. Myron and her daughter, Chelsea. They just arrived today and since all the hotels were booked and as we have lots of extra rooms, they'll be staying here. Mrs. Myron's work got permanently transferred here and her house isn't yet ready."

I took a look at the two. Mrs. Myron was a large woman with curly black hair and her daughter looked my age. Chelsea had long black hair that looked as if it had been straightened and thick bangs. She had cerulean eyes and was wearing a black hoodie, black cargo pants and lots of eyeliner. Me, in my light pink spaghetti strap dress with a full skirt, felt so uncomfortably like little Miss. Muffet.

"Hi, I'm May Maple. I just arrived here today too," I said and Mrs. Myron smiled at me.

"It's nice to meet you, dear. May I ask how old you are?" she asked and I felt friendly with her.

"I'm seventeen," I replied.

"Oh really? Chelsea's eighteen. She's getting the room beside you and I hope you two would be friends," Mrs. Myron said and I looked back at Chelsea. She still had that look on her face as if she were emotionless. I guessed she was that kind of emo girl. Oh but I don't have anything against emos, it's just that she's so different than frisky me.

"Hi Chelsea," I said, trying to make conversation with her. She looked up at me, still looking blank.

"Hi," she at last said. Her voice was kind of cracky. So different from my high and perky voice.

"Hi!" I repeated and felt so stupid for doing so. She just looked at me with her cold eyes before looking down at her plate again.

"Um, anyway, today we have some casserole and cold potato salad. Try it out, it's my cooking," Aunt Vicki said and I nodded gratefully as we helped ourselves.

--

_Beeeeep! Beeeeeep! _

_Ugh, stupid alarm clocks. I have a good mind to throw it out of the window. But then again, I brought it so I wouldn't waste the whole day, sleeping in... Mmm... worry about that later..._

My eyes closed again and I drifted off to a nice sleep. That was before the alarm went off. Again. Groaning, I lifted myself from the bed and squinted from the sunshine that was pouring in from the wide opened window. I looked at the clock and it took three tries before I could finally read the digits. 9:00. Wait a minute, 9 o'clock?! Darn, I was wasting too much of my precious time!

I sprinted to the bathroom and took the fastest shower known in the universe. Feeling a bit refreshed, I opened my closet and chose carefully of what I'll wear. I wanted something sassy and cute, something that screamed 'Beach Girl!' I chose a slinky ocean blue tank top with a huge playboy bunny in the centre and a denim mini skirt with a metal studded belt. Shoes? I guess that flip flops are the only suitable ones to be wearing at a beach and so I chose a matching blue one. My hair was let down, the wavy locks smelling sweet from the shampoo I quickly rubbed in the shower. Was I wearing a bikini underneath? Of course I was! This time it had a pink top and a white bottom with 'Hot?' written on the butt side. My friend, Kara, got it for me for my birthday, but you know my parents. They never allowed me to wear it. Well, no parents this time!

I know I'm not really following my dad's rules... When I called home last night he asked me whether I was being good and following his rules. I said 'yes', of course, but honestly, which girl could resist wearing a hot bikini at a hot beach like this?

A knock on my door caused me to turn from the mirror and I ran to open it. There stood Mrs. Myron, her hair up and dressed in a very formal manner. She smiled when she saw me.

"Hi May," she said.

"Oh, Mrs. Myron, hi."

"Um, I have a little reception party to go to but Chelsea will be still here. She's really bored so if you're going out today, could you take her?" Mrs. Myron asked.

Take Chelsea? Well it was okay, I guess. A bit weird, but okay. I _am_ a friendly person after all. "Sure, it's no prob."

"Thanks May, you're a darling. I'm gonna get her right now," she replied, smiling gratefully at me and hurrying to the next room beside mines. She knocked on the worn wooden door and after some seconds, Chelsea opened it. Without saying anything to her, Mrs. Myron grabbed her hand and led her to my door.

"Chelsea, sweetie, you go around with May today, okay?" Mrs. Myron asked the girl and she hesitated a while before reluctantly nodding.

"Great! I gotta run now. I'll see both of you later!" Mrs. Myron exclaimed and with a small wave, she hurried away leaving me and Chelsea to ourselves. I wondered how someone as active as Mrs. Myron could have such a quiet daughter like Chelsea. She stared at her shoes and crossed her arms on her chest and I just stood there, not knowing what to do. Was she wearing black today too? Of course. She was wearing a black hoodie (not the same one as yesterday) with the hood on her head, black pants that were torn at the knees and black converse shoes. She looked too bundled up to be at a beach and I felt way revealing. Suddenly my stomach growled and I realized that I hadn't had breakfast yet.

"Um, so Chelsea, have you had breakfast?" I asked, really hoping to start a conversation.

"Yeah," she replied at last and I nodded.

"I hadn't had mines. Why don't we, um, go down?" I asked.

"O-okay," Chelsea answered and I nodded again before walking to the stairs. She followed me to the kitchen where Aunt Vicki was loading the dishes into the dishwasher. She turned when she heard me walk into the room.

"Oh May, your awake already. Hello Chelsea. Do you want breakfast, May?" Aunt Vicki asked me.

"Yup! Where's Uncle Bryan?" I asked, taking a seat at the dining table. Chelsea sat herself down beside me. I knew she was feeling really awkward.

"Gone to work, kiddo," Aunt Vicki said and handed me a plate with two pancakes and a strip of bacon, "Here ya go."

"Thanks," I replied and dug into my meal.

--

"Um... where are we going?" Chelsea asked me as we walked out of the house. Outside it felt nice. The sun was shining brightly and there was a cool wind to accompany it. I tucked a strand of flying coffee brown hair behind my ear and turned to answer her question.

"To the beach, of course. You haven't swum yet, have you?"

She shook her head and hid her face more under the black garment that was covering her head. "I don't want to either."

"Why not? It's Sea City and take a look at that beach!" I exclaimed, pointing to the huge ocean in front of me.

"I don't have a swimsuit," she replied quietly.

"Oh, I'll lend you one of mine! Just wait here!" I cried and ran back into the house. Grabbing another one of my bikinis, a lavenderish one this time, I rushed down the stairs again and ran to where Chelsea was standing.

"H-here, y-you can have this," I said, panting from the run. I held it out and she took it with her thumb and pointer, holding it up.

"There is no way that I am wearing this," Chelsea said, "I hate this color and I hate bikinis."

"We'll buy you another one when we get to the boardwalk, but right now you can just wear this. Come on, it's no big deal," I said, encouraging her.

"No, no, no. I am _not _wearing this _at all_ and I am _not_ swimming," she told me and handed me back the lavender bundle. I didn't take it.

"Chelsea! Please, please, please wear it!" I pleaded not even knowing why I was doing so. I didn't know why I wanted her to wear it so much. Maybe I just wanted to see how she would look like in some of my clothes.

"If I do, will you shut up?" she asked me, her lips in a frown.

"Yes!"

--

"Hey May!" someone called out and I knew exactly who it was. Steve, of course. I turned from the waters and smiled at him.

"Hi!"

He motioned me to come over and I saw that Drew was also sitting beside him, so I turned to Chelsea who was standing behind me, all bundled up in a wide towel. She had put on the lavender bikini but after I laughed at her, she refused to come out from under that towel. It wasn't my fault for laughing. She looked so funny!

"Come with me, I want you to meet the lifeguards," I told her. Surprisingly, she followed me without a word and we walked over to where the two guys were sitting in their highchairs. Steve grinned at me when he saw me and Drew was managed a small smirk of a smile.

"I'm sorry I had to go home so early last night," Steve began, "My mom's cat had gotten up a palm tree again and I had to get him down. Anyway, who's your friend?"

"Its okay you had to go home and this is Chelsea," I replied, motioning my hand to the girl beside me. She looked at the two with the same blank expression she looked at me last night. "Chelsea, this is Steve," I continued, pointing to the blonde, "And this is Drew."

"Nice to meet ya, Chelsea," Steve said with a smile and Drew didn't say anything. He just nodded at her like he did to me.

"Uh, you too," Chelsea replied after a few seconds.

"So May," Steve said, turning to me, "Since I had to go home so early last night, I was thinking of dinner at a restaurant. Ya know, you, me, Chelsea and Drew. Sorta like a double date."

A double date? At a restaurant? That is so romantic! Too bad I had failed to notice that he meant me and him and not me and Drew.

**A/N: Yay! Third chapter done! Updates are really fast, right? Too bad they're sucky. I hated this chapter. The scenes changed around a lot and I'm not really satisfied with the writing... But I've got everything for this planned out. I've even wrote the ending. x) (Note: Just the ending, cuz' when I was in the oh-so-hateful study hall, I spent the whole time thinking of the right ending and when I thought of it, I didn't want to forget it.) **

**Thankies for reading, now please review!! **

_- Suzie :o)_


	4. The Horrible But Great Dinner

**A/N: Hey! To all my faithful readers and reviewers, thank you guys! I got my ten reviews that I long awaited for! XD This chapter is dedicated to my good friend, Clarissa or spheal6278 as her birthday gift. :D Her birthday is on Sept 6****th****. **

**And a small note to the readers of LMAB, I'm sorry for the horrible wait in updates. I'm just not very focused on that one.:(**

**Disclaimer: Of course, I don't own pokemon. DUH! XD **

**Chapter 4 – **

_**Review… **_

"_So May," Steve said, turning to me, "Since I had to go home so early last night, I was thinking of dinner at a restaurant. Ya know, you, me, Chelsea and Drew. Sorta like a double date." _

_A double date? At a restaurant? That is so romantic! Too bad I had failed to notice that he meant me and him and not me and Drew. _

--

**(A/N: It's still May's POV) **

I guess I must have spaced out after that because when I finally came down to earth, there was a gorgeous girl standing beside Drew's chair, batting her eyelashes at him. She was thin, with honey hair and huge hazel eyes. She was wearing a bikini that revealed so much of her cleavage that she might as well be wearing underwear.

"Hi Drew…" she said in a sugary voice.

"Hey Dana," he replied.

When hearing that, I got so fired up. I didn't know why but it was just so weird having Drew actually greeting some other girl.

"I'm having some sort of problems with my math… think you can help me out?" Dana asked, batting her mascara filled eyelashes. I don't know how she would act if she were a blonde. There weren't any major difference in her attitude anyway.

"Dana, it's like summer vacation. We don't need math," Steve said, looking at her strangely.

"Knowledge is strength, Steve," Dana replied. "Drew?"

"I'm not in the mood for a math filled afternoon. I don't think you are too," Drew replied, flicking his bangs out from his eyes.

"But-"

"Didn't you hear the man? He doesn't want to do math. Bye now," Steve cut in, waving her away. She stalled a moment before shooting a deathly look at Steve and stomping away.

"Sorry May. That was Dana Hewitt. The peskiest girl in the universe. She has her eyes set on Drew," Steve told me, laughing a bit. Drew shot his friend a look. "Besides, she's way too of a 'Victoria Beckham.'" Steve laughed again and Drew smiled a bit. I laughed along too, seeing a new side of Dana. She really did look horrible with her fringy hair and bony figure.

"Um… right. You think we should go now?" Chelsea interrupted, her first adding in the conversation. I glanced at the sky. It was getting a bit darker and the beach had gone orangey. Glancing at my blue wrist watch, I noticed it was almost four. Wow, going to the beach sure takes up a lot of time.

"Yeah sure, Chelsea," I replied and turned to Steve. "We're meeting up tonight?" I asked and Steve nodded.

"Yep. I think Drew knows where you live. We'll be waiting around there at about seven. Sound like a plan?"

"Yup! See you guys then," I said, waving as Chelsea and I walked away. I grabbed my tote bag underneath an umbrella and motioned Chelsea to follow me back to Aunt Vicki's house.

--

"Have you thought of anything to wear?" I asked Chelsea as I combed my hair furiously later that afternoon. She shrugged as she sat down on a chair in my room.

"I don't really care," she replied, tracing her finger along the designs carved into the chair.

"As long as it's black, right?" I asked and she scrunched her eyebrows at me.

"Is that supposed to be some sort of insult?"

"Only if you take it that way," I replied and laughed when I saw the look on her face. "I'm joking! It's just that I've never see you wear anything but black."

"Right. It's my favorite color."

"And are you English?" I asked her, noticing her accent.

"No, but I've lived there since I was twelve. Why? My accent's freaking you out?" Chelsea asked with a small laugh. The first time I've heard her laugh.

"Let's just go with that," I answered. "Now, do you think I'll look good in this or this?" I asked, holding up two different outfits. One was a black light sundress with some embroidery on it and the other was a cute soft purple off the shoulder blouse with puffed up sleeves and light blue denim jeans.

"I go for the black. But what do I know about clothes?" Chelsea replied, shrugging again. She blew some bangs out of her eyes.

"I think the black's good for going raving or something. But jeans aren't really appropriate for going out in the city, right? I think I have to find a skirt for that," I muttered and rummaged my closet, pulling out piles of unwanted stuff. Finally I found what I was looking for. It was a slinky black skirt with blue ruffles at the edge. There were a light sprinkle of blue glitter on the pockets and a blue belt that was higher on one side.

"Ta-da!" I exclaimed, holding it up. "What do you think of this?"

Chelsea shrugged at me and dug my iPod from underneath the pillow. She put the earphones in her ears and clicked through the songs. I rolled my eyes at her. It was almost six thirty and she hasn't even decided what she'll wear!

"Well, I think it's great. I think you'll have to get ready 'cause look at the time," I said and ran to the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower now." Chelsea shooed her hand at me and I stuck my tongue out at her. Laughing to myself, I stepped into the bathroom and took my shower.

When I came out, Chelsea was already gone. She must've took my iPod with her too because I couldn't find it anywhere. I never knew she liked stuff like Rihanna. I quickly shook my head, releasing droplets of water from the tangled locks. Wrapping it up with a towel, I threw on my clothes and sat in front of the mirror. Looking carefully at myself, I applied some pale pink lip gloss. That was all. My face looked fine, I guess.

I let down my wet hair and quickly blow dried it. Combing it straight, I put a single red barrette in it. Smiling, I walked out of the room and knocked on Chelsea's. The door suddenly opened, startling me. Chelsea was holding it and she was all dressed in a black sweater and jeans. She was wearing her same black high-tops.

"Chelsea! You can't go looking like that!" I cried.

"Of course I can," she replied, looking quite contented with her look.

"No, because going to a dinner in the city acquires you to wear something formal and nice," I told her as patiently as possible. "So wait here, I'm gonna get something decent for you to wear."

"May-"

"No Maying. Wait right here," I told her, rushing back to my room. It was almost seven and I grabbed the first thing I saw. The black dress. Right then, of course, I didn't know what it was. Just a bundle of black light fabric. But when Chelsea opened it, and when I saw the horrendous look on her face, I knew she would protest till forever not to wear it. I was _not_ going to have that.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me. There's no way that I'm wearing this_… thing_!" Chelsea cried.

"I'm sorry, Chels, but that was the only thing I saw. I'm 99.9 percent sure that Steve and Drew are waiting outside by now… so wear it, please?" I begged her. "Besides, it's better than the bikini and you survived that!"

"But-"

"Just wear it!" I cried and shoved her inside the bathroom. After a few minutes she came out reluctantly in the dress. It fitted her perfectly and she had a great body after all.

"Awesome fit!" I exclaimed, ignoring her face. "Okay, we've got everything we need. Now let's get out of here." I said, grabbing her wrist and leading her out of the house.

"Hey, hey. Where're you two going? Chelsea, you're mother just called. She said she's gonna come home late," Aunt Vicki said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere and halting us at the front door.

"Oh, okay. We're… just going to grab a bite to eat outside," I said. It wasn't a complete lie, was it?

"And lemme guess, May. With boys?" Aunt Vicki asked with a sly look on her face. I shuffled from one leg to another.

"Kinda. We're late now, Aunt Vicki, do the patrolling later. Oh and if mom and dad calls, just tell them that I've gone somewhere with a suitable 'chaperone'!" I said in a louder voice than expected and dragged Chelsea out of the house. As I thought, Steve and Drew were already there, standing beside a silver convertible. A shiny one that looks almost brand new.

"Wow! Whose car is this?" I asked as I ran out to where they were standing.

"Mine," Steve said with a proud look on his face. "Just got it for my eighteenth birthday."

"Yep, super rich," Drew added.

"Like you're not," Steve retorted. "This guy's the richest dude on the block."

Drew rolled his eyes and I laughed. Hanging out with these guys was cool.

"Hey, wait up for me!" Chelsea exclaimed as she made her way to where we were. I forgot that I had 'accidentally' left her behind in my excitement of seeing a great car. I gotta admit, Chelsea looked great in that dress. I glanced at the guys as she made her way and saw that Drew had that nonchalant look on his face but Steve's eyes were almost popping out of their sockets. I pinched myself not to laugh at his face. He was _so_ gawking her.

We finally got into the car with Steve driving, Drew sitting beside him and Chelsea and me sitting at the back seats. The roof was down and the air was soft and warm. It was a perfect summer night.

"Which restaurant are we going?" I asked as the wind blew my hair across my face. I tucked it back into my ear.

"Chinese. Cheng Wee Lang's," Drew answered. I nodded slowly, pretending that I understood exactly what he was talking about. I never ate Chinese food. I thought they stink. But if we were gonna eat it now; I guess I'll just have to go with the flow. I glanced at Chelsea to see how she took that Chinese food thing, but she was looking out of the window casually. I guess she probably ate it tons of times before.

We soon arrived to the busy streets of downtown and there were cars _everywhere. _I always thought Sea City consisted of only the beach and the boardwalk. There were people everywhere and casinos were heavily lit with different colorful lights. Kids were laughing, buying popcorn on the streets and enjoying their time. Steve slowed down in front of a small herbal shop and looked around for a decent parking place. After half an hour, someone finally got their car out and the silver convertible was parked.

We hopped out and started strolling down the streets of town. The restaurant was about a block away from the parking place and so we got to see most of the spots.

"And voila, here's Cheng Wee Lang's," Steve announced as we passed another herbal shop.

I looked at the shop and saw all the different kinds of little jars that were filled with stuff I didn't recognize. Shuddering, I followed the others inside the restaurant that was right beside that herb shop. It was small and a bit different from what I imagined. Okay, maybe a whole lot more different than I imagined. We were led to a booth by a thin Chinese man and he gave us the menus. In case you're wondering where I sat, I ended up beside Chelsea. Steve and Drew were sitting in front of us. I could hear the chop-chop of a man cutting up roasted duck on a wooden block. The crunch of the bones made me feel sick.

"So… what would you like to order, Chelsea?" Steve asked as he opened the menu. I noticed that he seemed to be more interested in her now. I felt happy for Chelsea.

"Um… I don't know. Do they have those shrimp rolls? I love them," Chelsea asked and the Chinese man who was still hovering over us, nodded.

"Yes, we have those," he answered, noting down. "Anyting else?" ((I deliberately spelled 'anything' wrongly, m'kay?))

"Don't forget fried lice," Steve said with a grin. My stomach flipped. Lice? Not my idea of an ideal meal.

"So how about you, May?" Drew asked, looking intently at me. I hurriedly scanned my menu, looking for a word that looked easier to pronounce.

"Um… chow mein?" I said, cautiously.

"Oh, that's tourist food," Chelsea said. "You can get chow mein anywhere. Get something unique."

"Oh," was all I managed to muster. I suddenly felt dumb.

"It's okay. If May wants chow mein, she can get it," Drew said, helping me out. The man nodded and wrote down some notes again.

"What about you, Drew?" Steve asked.

"One thousand year old eggs," he answered with a smile. The thoughts of the different jars floated in my head again.

"O-kay. That all?" the man asked and we nodded. "Forks or chopsticks?"

"Chopsticks," the trio answered. My stomach flipped over a second time. I had no idea how to use chopsticks. We were given some tea I felt a bit relieved that it was good old green tea that I was used to.

Our food was brought in one by one and I had no idea which was which. I saw the shrimp roll Chelsea was talking about and steadily balanced it on my wooden sticks. It was hard. I managed to wobbly bring it back to my mouth and chewed it.

"Oh!" I cried. It was so spicy and hot!

"Are you okay, May?" Steve asked me, and I managed to nod slowly.

"It was just a bit hot," I replied and drank my tea. The drink burned my tongue. Fir the rest of the meal, I managed to eat an almond, some shreds of lettuce and a few grains of 'lice' which I found out, was actually rice. The thousand year old eggs were green and slimy and looked gross. I didn't touch it. There were weird food and the crunching of bones didn't make things better. I felt like I was going to cry.

Our meal finally finished and the fortune cookies were brought in. We all took one and Steve was the first one to read his out.

"'You find beauty in ordinary things, do not lose this ability,'" he read out and laughed. I managed to smile. "How about you, Drew?"

Drew cracked his open and read the slip. "'Plan for many pleasures ahead,'" he said and laughed a bit. "I hope its right. May?"

I cracked my cookie, taking out the slip of white paper. "'If you want the rainbow, you must put up with the rain,'" I read out. "I guess that's true. How about yours, Chelsea?"

Chelsea ripped her cookie open and read her slip. "'Be mischievous and you will not be lonesome,'" she said. "I don't know about this one."

"You're right," Steve replied. "We have time to go around town for about an hour and then meet up at the car. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Drew replied, as we got up. The bill was paid and when we got to the street again, Steve turned to me.

"Um, I'm sorry May. I'd like to go with Chelsea… Do you mind going with Drew?" he asked and I shook my head.

"Not at all. You two have fun. See you later," I called out. They smiled at me before heading off in the different direction. I faced Drew.

"Where do you wanna go?"

"Oh, I don't know. Let's go see those shops over there," he answered and led me to some small shops. We marveled at the different souvenirs, talking and laughing. I felt a bit better, but I still felt rejected because of that awful dinner.

"Hey, the fog's getting thick," Drew remarked. I looked around and saw that he was right. There were white mists everywhere. We walked again before stopping in front of an American burger restaurant.

"Why are stopping here?" I asked him.

"I could see that you didn't have much of a good dinner. Does a good old burger sound good to you?" Drew asked, quirking a brow.

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it does."

He returned the smile and we walked inside the shop. Ordering a hamburger, we sat down at a booth and I felt warm with the music playing the familiar smell of burgers. As the waitress set down the burger, Drew smiled at me.

"You have little bits of fog in your hair," he remarked, reaching up to touch it. I blushed and look at myself in the mirror on the ceiling. He was right.

--

**A/N: OMG! Done! That took me all afternoon to write! It was incredibly long. (I think) Please review!! I really rushed through the last scenes because I had to go to bed, so tell me if there are any mistakes. I know Drew was incredibly OOC. I'm sorry. XD Happy birthday to you, Clarissa! Kay, see ya!**

_-Suzie :o)_


	5. Dances And Rejection

**A/N: Hey everyone! Yes, I **_**am**_** updating ****AGAIN****! :D I'm so fresh on this one whereas on LMAB, I'm blank. ): But well, enjoy this little treat! **

**Dedications: **

**(1) To ****Kirsty**_**(-Kaidee-1)**_**! Yes, to you because you showed me the joys of free music downloads. XD I know, I can be **_**so**_** dumb when it comes to technology. But this isn't the **_**only**_** reason, Kirst, you're absolutely fantastic! Just like the big sister I never had. (: **

**(2) To ****Lorry**** (**_**delcatty546)**_**! Yes, you! I heart you, Lor! Thanks so much for giving me a great best friend! Remember that convo? Lol, it's so hilarious when I think of it. That was definitely one of the conversations I'd never forget. **

**Disclaimer: No… I don't own Pokemon. Who do you take me for?**

* * *

**Chapter 5 – (May's POV) **

The ride back home was much better. I could finally laugh and enjoy my time. I got even more excited when Steve mentioned something.

"There's a dance coming up, right Drew?" he remarked and Drew nodded.

"Yeah, the one to celebrate the beginning of summer. It's going to be on Sunday," Drew answered.

Sunday was only a week away from now! This summer has turned from perfect to miraculously wonderful. I mean, how good can a summer at Sea City get? There weren't any more mentions of it afterwards but I was still on high hopes that Drew would ask me to go with him. He _did _notice the fog in my hair, right? Chelsea must've guessed that I was certainly counting on going with Drew because she warned me not to have so high hopes when we got back home. What a spoiler.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday passed by in a blur and Drew still haven't said anything to me. Oh well, I figured that he must've forgotten and had the tickets in his wallet the whole time. Men are _so_ forgetful. By Friday it was impossible to be oblivious to the fact that there was going to be a dance. All across the beach and boardwalk there were posters of the dance, inviting people and offering half price for couples. I had grown a bit uneasy by Saturday. Chelsea was already asked out by Steve which she accepted but I was still solo. I decided to press on the subject that afternoon when we went to get some ice-cream.

"So… the people who are arranging the dance are sure doing a hard job putting up those posters," I remarked casually and observed his expression. There was a hint of uneasiness that appeared but if he _did_ feel troubled, he sure hid it well.

"Yeah, it must cost a whole lot of paper," he replied, shoving his hands inside the pockets of his jeans. "Did you like that ice-cream? I thought it terrible."

I noticed how he changed the subject so quickly but I let it slip, not really wanting to believe that he was actually going to take another girl to the dance. I hoped it wasn't Dana out of all people.

"A random boy on the beach asked me if I was going to the dance but I told him I already had a date," I said, ignoring his question. A somewhat relieved look appeared on his face.

"Really? Well that's good. Maybe we could swap dances."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Swap dances? So he _did_ have a date already. "B-but I thought y-you…"

The look on his face was the most torturous of all. It was all mixed with worry, anxiousness and… pity? Before he had a chance to say anything, I ran back to my aunt's house, locking myself in my room and crying for how foolish I was. Just because we had a few dates together and went out for a couple of ice-creams didn't mean _anything_; I told bitterly to myself. He already has a girl he actually wants to go to the dance with. A knock on my door made me look up from my soaked pillow.

"G-go away!" I cried out.

"May, its Chelsea. Let me inside, please?" came the voice of Chelsea from outside. I didn't want to talk to Chelsea but she was a good friend and so I let her in. She sighed when she saw my red puffy face.

"Let me guess, Drew's not going to the dance with you?" she asked gently and I didn't say anything. She didn't need to ask the obvious. Taking my silence as an answer, she sighed again.

"I told you not to get your hopes up, May."

"Oh stop rubbing it in the face that you got asked out!" I exclaimed and Chelsea looked hurt.

"I wasn't rubbing anything, May…" she said softly. "Do you know who it is?"

I shook my head and she thought for a while. "Do you think it could be Dana?"

"I don't know," I muttered, really hoping it wasn't Dana.

"Well, we'll find out tomorrow…" Chelsea answered and left my room.

--

The whole day on Sunday, I tried as hard as I could I avoid Drew. Whenever I saw a hint of green, I felt the rejection again. It was sickening. That night as I watched longingly as Chelsea changed into a slinky red dress she borrowed from me. I wished I had a date. If I had accepted that boy on the beach I would be dressing up too. But it wouldn't happen; I told myself. You wouldn't want to see Drew with another girl either.

"I'll tell you the moment I get back, okay?" Chelsea said and I nodded, not really wanting to know the girl who he chose over me.

"Thanks, Chels."

"No problem. I think I better get going now…"

"Have fun," I told her.

"Thanks. You try not to be too sad either. It's just a boy, May. There's plenty of fish in the ocean. Especially for someone as pretty as you," Chelsea told me with a smile. "Well, bye."

"Bye."

I watched as she walked out of the room and out of the house. Sighing, I walked back to my own room, shoving my hands inside the pockets of the grey hoodie I was wearing. Sitting down on the bed, I took out a book I borrowed from Uncle Bryan. It said 'The History of Sea City'. It was very thick and I grew tired of it after two pages. I didn't want to be stuck inside a dreary room reading 'The History of Sea City'; I wanted to be whirling around the dance floor in Drew's arms. He seemed like he would be good at dancing…

Sighing again, I walked to the window, seating myself in front of the sill. Resting my elbows on the window sill, I lowered my chin on my palms and looked outside at the night. I wondered who would be the lucky girl, twirling in Drew's arms at the moment. I wondered if Chelsea would trade dances with him. I wondered…

From the distance, I heard two foghorns bleating in the distance, interrupting my thoughts.

'_Yoo-hoo! Yoo-hoo!'_ one bleated.

'_Come back…! Come back…!'_ the other cried.

The bleats sounded so like human words. As I stared out to the distance, two tears slid from my eyelids. Quickly wiping them away, I scolded myself.

_Get over yourself_; I told myself. _Ten years later, you'd be looking back, laughing at this scene. _But I knew that even ten years later I couldn't laugh at this. This night was too painful for me to laugh at even after ten years.

'_Yoo-hoo! Yoo-hoo!'_

'_Come back…! Come back…!' _

* * *

**A/N: Aww… the ending was sad and depressing. ): Those who are wondering if foghorns actually sound like that, yes, they do! :-O This chapter was short and I'm sorry for it. But I hoped you enjoyed it! Don't worry though, there are more happy moments coming up in the future! **

**Thanks for reading! Please review! **

_-Suzie :o))_


	6. Apologies

A/N: Been a while since I've updated anything. But you know what school's like. It takes up so much of my time. And that request from Blue… Oh I feel stressed out. But anyway, thank you to the reviewers! I love you all.

Disclaimer: Pokemon sounds great to own. But unluckily – I don't own it.

Dedication: -looks right and left- No one. Oh well.

Chapter 6 – The Perfect Summer (May's POV)

* * *

"What a night," Chelsea exclaimed as she burst into my room the next day. I was sitting on the bed – moping around. Chelsea had come home late the previous night and I was already in bed. So I was going to find out the girl Drew took only now. Suddenly a horrible feeling erupted in my stomach.

"Well…?" I asked her after a few seconds and Chelsea sat herself down on the bed beside me. She reached up into my tangled mess of brunette hair and combed them down.

"You really need to comb your hair," she remarked and I rolled my eyes.

"Well who was it?!" I exclaimed, obviously annoyed. Chelsea smirked.

"Way to be patient May."

"Chelsea – tell me," I told her and she nodded, still combing down my hair.

"It was a family friend," she said after a few seconds.

I didn't know why – but I felt a bit relieved. I had a 'family friend' myself back in Petalburg. He was about three inches shorter than me, wore braces, takes away an ice-cream cone to eat at home, kept change in a little purse and was interested in nothing other than rocks. I began to wonder… maybe Drew was forced to take this girl to the dance. Maybe she was really ugly and had glasses and braces. Maybe she was a geek – like George back home.

"Her name was Bitsy," Chelsea continued and I quirked a brow.

"Bitsy? Don't you mean Betsy?" I asked, thinking I had heard wrong. Chelsea shook her head.

"No – everyone calls her Bitsy because she's such a tiny little thing," she replied.

"Oh," I answered. "How was she?"

"I hate to say this," Chelsea said with a small smile. "But she was actually a darling. And the fellows really went for her."

"Oh," I repeated. So Drew was _not_ forced to take little Bitsy to the dance. He took her because he wanted to. Because she was a darling little thing.

"Here – I took a picture of her incase you wanted to… y'know, check her out," Chelsea said and handed me a photograph.

I hesitated for a moment before looking down at the picture in my hands. 'Bitsy' was a dark-haired girl with a sleek haircut. She had on a flowery dress and wore high-heels almost three inches tall. And despite my instant dislike for her – I had to admit. She was pretty.

"She was those small little girls," Chelsea said. "And made everyone around her feel like they were far too big. Especially me. I felt like I should be running around with a hockey stick rather than dancing."

I smiled at Chelsea and put the photo down. "Thanks Chels. For everything."

"It's no problem…" Chelsea said and looked at me. "But are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah – I'm fine," I lied. "It was all one big mistake."

--

'_Don't you know I've tried and I've tried to get you out my mind…? But it don't get no better as each day goes by…_'

The music poured through my earphones as I doodled in my diary. So far I've written only three entries since I've gotten here. It's been two weeks. I should have more but I guess there were days when I was too busy.

I felt like I've been riding in an emotional rollercoaster. In the end – all I'm left with is a sick feeling. I looked up for a moment. I thought I heard the 'ding-dong' of the bell. No one was in the house. Uncle Bryan and Mrs. Myron were at work, Aunt Vicki had gone grocery shopping and Chelsea was over at Steve's house. I feel kind of jealous on how they hit it off so quickly while I was still a tangled mess.

I shrugged as the 'ding-dong' didn't repeat and went on doodling in the book. I heard pounding on the door and that's when I pulled off my earphones and ran downstairs to get the door – thinking it was just some advertiser. When I pulled open the door, a sight I never thought I'd see stood there.

Drew.

What in the world was he doing here? _He can't take me for granted_; I thought bitterly to myself. _He just thinks he can come around any old time and expect me to be happy. He thought wrong. _

"Listen – May. I've wanted to talk to you," he started, looking awkward. I told myself to look cool and aloof.

"What about?"

"Can you… Can you come with me for a while?"

I looked at him. Did he seriously expect me to run off with him? After all he did? No – no way. "My aunt said to wait at home."

"When is your aunt coming back?" Drew asked.

"She said twelve thirty," I answered and Drew glanced at his wristwatch.

"It's just eleven. C'mon, I really need to show you something."

I guess the look on his face and curiosity got the best of me because I told him to wait as I ran upstairs to check my outfit. I didn't care on how Drew thinks – as he obviously likes small girls with sleek haircuts. But I did care about the people around me. Combing my hair and slipping on a slim tee, I ran back down. He was fidgeting with his hands and led me outside. I looked around – expecting some wild crazy sight but nothing was in view except for a shiny blue convertible.

"What did you want to show me?" I asked him and Drew grinned as he looked at the car.

"This is my new car."

"Your car!" I exclaimed, instantly forgetting on looking cool and aloof. "Wow!"

Drew smiled. "That's a reaction I wanted to see. This isn't new or anything but a dab of paint worked quite well."

"Wow!" I repeated. The convertible was a Ford, a slightly older model but a pretty car nonetheless.

"There's also another thing I wanted to talk to you about," Drew said, looking at his shoes. "It's about… it's about the dance."

The events of last night replayed in my head and the bubbly feeling disappeared. "Oh."

"Listen – I'm sorry I couldn't go with you. It's a stupid thing, I know, but at the beginning of the year, Bitsy was complaining about never having gone to the 'Start of Summer' Dance. And I had promised her that I'd take her. And I never broke promises… But if I had to choose, I'd have gone with you."

His words made me soften a little. "I hope you had a good time."

"A good time?" Drew scoffed. "Bitsy was short, stepped on my feet, got lipstick on my coat and I had to take small steps all evening. Not a good time if you asked me."

I smiled, suddenly feeling happier than I ever was. Well! It just goes to show that boys think way differently than girls do. "I know," I said suddenly. "Let's go show Chelsea and Steve your car."

Drew quirked a brow at me. "You're not mad?"

"No, I'm not mad," I answered. "C'mon, I know Chels would be thrilled."

Drew grinned as he opened the car door for me. He was obviously excited at the thought of showing his car to other people.

--

"This is your new car?" Chelsea asked as she walked around it. "It's pretty."

"Man, you got a new ride!" Steve exclaimed. "Let's try it."

Drew quirked a brow. "You wanna ride it?"

"Why not?" Chelsea said.

"Yeah Drew," I agreed. "Let's go out for a ride."

He nodded, smiling and everyone hopped into the convertible. I felt amazingly proud, going around with the wind in my hair and sitting in the passenger seat next to Drew. As I passed a girl I knew from the beach, I waved.

"Hi there!" I cried and the girl smiled back, hugging the books she was carrying close to her chest and looking wistfully at us. Poor girl.

I was acting rather unlike myself and I knew it. But I forgot that as Steve whistled.

"Whew May, I don't know if the sun in your hair or that new tan you got that did it – but you turn out to look as hot as a Sea City girl," he remarked and my cheeks turned red. His comment didn't really mean much, but it was always an extra help if a guy thinks you're hot.

"Hey Drew," Steve called over. "I'll give you a dollar if you'll let me kiss your girl."

His offer was shocking. And I was feeling a new wave in myself that I leaned over and closed my eyes. I felt a warm sensation on my lips and I opened my eyes in shock. He had kissed me on the lips!

Steve smirked when he pulled away and I glanced at Chelsea. She was looking at her shoes. Drew had his fist clenched over on the steering wheel far tighter than it was suppose to be. The car was stopped. Steve tossed a dollar coin over to Drew who caught it in one go. After that, the car started again and no one said a word. Drew drove in silence and I quirked a brow as we passed many unfamiliar areas.

"Where are we going?" I asked but he didn't answer. At last we stopped at the end of a long bridge. Still sitting, Drew threw the coin out into the sea. It disappeared with a silver glint into the water.

"Now _that's_ taken care of," he murmured and I looked at him in surprise.

"I'm sorry," I whispered but he just shrugged. As he did so I notice the paleness under his tan. _He must have really been hurt by that_; I thought to myself. _What was I thinking? He had been kind enough to come and apologize and I had kissed another person. His best friend and the guy my friend liked to be exact. What was I thinking?! _

But I knew what I was thinking when I did that. I wanted him to feel some of the hurt and the betrayal I had felt when he had taken another girl out. I wanted him to feel the same. But now I regretted it more than ever.

The ride back to my aunt's house was in silence as well and as he dropped me off, he managed a small smile. "I'm sorry. I got you here two minutes late."

I nodded dumbly. "That's okay." We were apologizing all day. He had apologized for not taking me to the dance, I had apologized for kissing Steve and now he was apologizing for making me late. What a day.

"Call me!" I cried as he walked back to the car. I wasn't so sure if he heard me or not but as Chelsea walked off saying she 'wanted some time alone', I forgot about that. I wanted to break down and cry right there on the spot but I couldn't.

Everything was just so confusing.

* * *

A/N: Okay! I had typed as fast as I can to get this thing done, so there will be a lot of mistakes. Tell me if you spotted one. I was about to make this longer… had another little twist for you readers in mind but I felt like I wanted to torture you guys. So yeah, please review! Please! And a little message to Kirsty! This was the MayXOC thing I had told you about! _Now_ it's officially over! :)

_-- Suzie :o))_


	7. Hospitals And Flowers

A/N: Lol, yes, I'm updating TPS again. Why? Well I like this better than the others. :) Plus it's much easier for me to write. Enjoy! And thanks for the reviews! I loved em'. :D

Disclaimer: Pokemon ain't mine. x)

(May's POV)

* * *

Chelsea and I had patched things up. I had apologized, of course and she accepted it. I mean - I couldn't imagine what I'd do if we still weren't talking to each other. But however – guess what? Drew never called.

I waited practically the whole day beside the phone but nothing. Was he really that mad? Not that I can blame him… It was entirely my fault… How I wished I could just rewrite every line of what just happened within these few days. I checked the beach the next day, hoping to find his familiar head of green hair but he wasn't there. Another guy was in his place. Blinking the tears out of my eyes, I headed back home.

It was empty except for Aunt Vicki reading a book on the couch. She smiled weakly at me and I returned it. I knew she saw what I was feeling. And she didn't interrogate me. I really appreciated that. I stumbled up to my room and threw myself on the bed, my thoughts spinning. I knew where Chelsea had gone. She said she was going to the boardwalk to check out the new CD store. I was too busy waiting for the phone to go along with her. Didn't really felt like it either.

Suddenly the loud tone of my mobile phone came ringing out and I was never this happy to hear it ring. Grabbing it with a happy smile on my face, I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Don't get too excited. It's me."

My heart sank. I was _so_ disappointed. It was Chelsea, but what was she calling for? And why did she sound so muffled? "Oh, hey."

"Still depressed that Drew hasn't called? Well don't be," she said, her voice muffled on the other end.

"What? Why? And why do you sound so muffled?" I asked.

"I'm in Steve's closet," she replied. (_A/N: Ry... make a comment if you dare. xP)_

"How in the world did you get to Steve's closet?!" I asked, getting more frazzled by the second.

"May! Chill!" she commanded. "I was at the CD store when I saw Steve. He was picking up some CDs. He told me that he was holding a pool party at his house. So I followed along. Man, it's so crowded and loud in the house that I dragged the phone into the closet to call you."

"Oh," I answered, calming down.

"I just had to," she continued. "I'll bet you anything that you didn't know Drew was in the hospital!"

"Wait, what?" I asked. "Drew's in the hospital?"

"Yeah, believe it or not," Chelsea replied. "He had his appendix taken out."

"Appendix taken out?" I repeated. "When?"

"I don't know. Probably some time yesterday," Chelsea answered. "Hey, look – it's real stuffy and hot in here and I think a coat just fell on me. I was calling to tell you this. He's in Bay Hospital. So if you wanna see him…"

"I get the picture," I replied. "Thanks for the call, Chels."

"No prob," she answered. "The others might miss me. I'll be home soon, May."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and sighed. How worse can my summer get?

For the next three days, I wondered what I should do about Drew. I looked over the get-well cards at the stationery store but neither the sentimental cards adorned with roses and violets nor the cards painted with elephants or kittens and silly verses seemed exactly right for someone like Drew.

What do you give to a boy in the hospital? A book? But I don't know what he likes to read. Chocolates? No, that won't be good. My mind closed in on one thing: flowers. But what kind of flowers? They have to be masculine, I decided to myself. Maybe yellow geraniums…? No, those were too feminine. Sighing, I couldn't think of any flowers that were just fit for someone like Drew. I decided to finally ask my aunt. Hey – maybe she could have better ideas than my mom, right?

"Aunt Vicki?" I began, and she looked up from the cross-stitching she was doing.

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Well um," I started. "Is… flowers an okay thing to give to someone in the hospital? I mean – a _boy_ in the hospital."

My aunt smiled. "Flowers are wonderful! If you'd like we have the chrysanthemums in the flower bed that Uncle Brian spent all year on."

"I'll go look at them," I mumbled noncommittally and went outside to check on the chrysanthemums. I lifted the head of one of my uncle's chrysanthemums, a great spidery blossom, in a delicate shade of pink. It was fragile and lovely but honestly – pink flowers for Drew? I mean – did Aunt Vicki really expected me to pick some clumps of chrysanthemums from the back yard and throw them in his face? No, I'd have to make a trip to the local floral shop. Nice bouquet paper would do fine.

It was easy, right? Just walk into the flower shop, ask the florist for some masculine flowers, make him wrap them up in nice paper, and ask him to deliver it to Drew. Piece of cake.

Taking some money from my drawer, and telling my aunt where I was going, I made my way to the florists, feeling confident. I found the shop, '_La Belle'_. One window displayed a bouquet of white stock and chrysanthemums suitable for a wedding. The other was filled with philodendron; its split leaves the size of dinner plates, climbing a moss-covered stick. Confidently I walked inside, the scent of all different types of flowers striking my nose.

"May I help you?"

I turned to see a stout man, wearing a yellow smock over his white shirt and looking at me through his glasses.

"Yes, please." I glanced around at the display of vases, figurines, and potted plants. "I want to send some flowers to someone in the hospital."

"We have some nice yellow roses," the florist said, reaching into the refrigerator at the back of the shop and pulling out a container of roses. "We can give you a nice arrangement of a dozen and a half roses tied with a yellow satin ribbon and set in a round glass bowl for five dollars."

I looked at the roses dubiously. They were very pretty. _Too_ pretty. It was almost difficult to believe that such perfect blooms had once been attached to bushes with roots growing in soil and manure. No, hothouse roses with satin ribbons were not right for Drew. "I don't think that's exactly what I had in mind," I told the florist.

"We have some nice chrysanthemums today," suggested the man, pointing to a container of spidery blooms. They weren't nearly as pretty as the ones in the backyard of my aunt's house.

"No, I don't think so," I replied. I started to feel embarrassed. The florist was probably impatient with me now.

"Are the flowers for a new mother?" asked the florist. "Perhaps, I could interest you in…"

"Oh no," I cut him off. "They're for a-a man."

"I see," he replied as if he realized the importance of the occasion. "A young man?"

"I guess. I wanted something more… well, something more masculine."

"Yes, of course," agreed the man. "Let's see…" he muttered to himself. "Masculine flowers…"

I began to feel uncomfortable. I hadn't realized that it would be so difficult to select flowers.

"I have it!" the florist exclaimed. "How about glads?" He reached into the fridge and brought out a couple of stalks of pink gladiolas and held them up for my inspection. "Nothing too sissy about glads, eh?"

I scrutinized the blossoms on the long straight stems. They were pink – but not a delicate, feminine pink. They were more of a flaming sunset pink. Yes, I decided. Gladiolas could probably be passed as masculine flowers.

"With a few delphiniums and some ferns they make a nice arrangement," said the florist hopefully. "I can throw in some ferns for three dollars and a half."

"Okay," I agreed. "I'll take them." I was glad to make my decision at last. Digging into my coin purse for some money, I handed it on the counter. "And would you please send them to Bay Hospital?"

"Sorry miss," said the florist. "We don't deliver under five dollars."

I was taken back by the news. It was about four blocks to the hospital. I could walk over with the flowers and leave them at the information desk to be sent up to Drew's room. "I'll take them anyway," I told him. "I can carry them over myself."

"You can write a card if you'd like," the florist suggested. "I'll have the flowers ready for you in a few minutes."

I sat down at the desk in the corner of the shop and chose a plain white card. I wrote, "_Dear Drew, I am sorry to hear about your operation. I hope you get well soon. May." _Then I carefully write _Drew Hayden _on an envelope and was about to put the card inside when I realized that the message was all wrong. It was too stiff and prim. I tore the card to bits and dropped them into the waste-basket. On a second card I wrote, _"Sorry to hear about your bad luck. Hope you get well soon. I already miss the ice-cream nights. xP May." _That was much better. It was friendly, casual and not so prim.

"Here we are," announced the florist.

I looked up from the desk to look and I was glad I was sitting down. Otherwise, the shock of seeing the flowers might have been too much for me. They were not discreetly wrapped in green paper like I had imagined. The flaming sunset gladiolas, the intense blue delphiniums, and the ferns were arranged in a foil-covered container ornamented with a blue ribbon. The stalks of flowers stuck out like the spikes on the crown of the Statue of Liberty, and the spaces between were filled with asparagus ferns. The whole lurid thing was at least three feet across. Whoa.

"Made up real nice, didn't it?" the florist adjusted a fern and stood back to admire his work.

"Uh... yes," I stuttered. What was I going to do? I couldn't tell the florist that I had changed my mind after I had paid him and he had gone through all that work and looked so pleased with what he had done. For a frantic moment I considered rushing out of the shop, never to return. But I couldn't do that either. I couldn't do anything except deliver the monstrous bouquet.

"Is something wrong?" asked the man. "You don't like it?"

"It's very pretty," I answered. Well it _was _pretty in a gaudy way. The blossoms were fresh, the blue bow was jaunty and the colors harmonized. It was just so... big. "Thanks for arranging the flowers," I said as I peered through the foliage at the florist.

"Here, let me open the door for you," said the florist. The bouquet was too wide for the door, so I walked sideways out of the shop.

Well... embarrassment, here I come.

* * *

A/N: Ta-da! :) What do you think? I was going to write more, but the florist scene took a lot of space and I didn't want the chapter to be dragging on forever. So… people, I'll leave you guessing of what happens next. Updates will probably be after New Year! Whoo, 2009's coming up! :D Anyhow, don't worry if you don't know all those flowers, I didn't too. But asking a real florist for some info always helps. ;)

I know, you don't care. But REVIEW! Flames are NOT welcome but constructive criticism is. ;)

_- Suzie :o))_


	8. Being Yourself

_Yoo ;] Been a while since I've updated ANYTHING :) But I knew that this would be the first story that I'd be updating 'cause I like this story ^^… so yeaah. x] _

**[Chapter 8]**

**[The Perfect Summer] **

_: : UnreachableRomance : : _

(… still May's POV…)

_Recap : : _

_"Is something wrong?" asked the man. "You don't like it?"_

_"It's very pretty," I answered. Well it was pretty in a gaudy way. The blossoms were fresh, the blue bow was jaunty and the colors harmonized. It was just so... big. "Thanks for arranging the flowers," I said as I peered through the foliage at the florist._

_"Here, let me open the door for you," said the florist. The bouquet was too wide for the door, so I walked sideways out of the shop._

_Well... embarrassment, here I come._

……………………

I had to pass the ice-cream place on my way to Bay Hospital and for a place with a tacky name – there sure were a lot of people. There was also a gang of boys that I had seen on the beach congregated in front of the entrance. There was also Chelsea and Steve. Surprise, surprise. Seeing Chelsea was not a problem for me. But Steve – that was a different thing.

I'm not going to let anyone tease me, I told myself severely. I would show them. I'm going to remember that I was May Maple and no one else. Maybe I was doing the wrong thing by even accepting this horrendous bouquet, but that's just the way I am. Feeling confident, I held the bunch of flowers tightly and strolled past.

"Hey, look what's coming!" I heard a boy's voice exclaim, and there was a hoot of laughter from the crowd.

"What is it?" asked another boy.

"It has a skirt and legs and feet. It must be half-human," said another. I had the sudden urge to drop the flowers and run off home, never coming out to see anyone again. But I couldn't. And in a way, I didn't want to either.

"Yeah, and the legs aren't bad!" I recognized Steve's voice. I was trying to avoid him ever since that kiss incident, but this time I didn't care if he saw me. I'd show him. That wolf.

I lowered my bouquet and taking a breath, peeped over the blossoms. "Hi."

Steve arched a brow and Chelsea did a double take. Her mouth was wide open. I bit my lip and saw Steve grin at me. That annoying grin that he had flashed me after he had kissed me the other day. I felt my face flush in spite of myself.

"What do you think you're doing, hiding behind that?" Steve asked.

"I'm taking this to Drew, at the hospital," I said coolly. "Is that all right with you?"

"You call that thing a bouquet?" asked Steve, smirking.

"No, I don't call it a bouquet," I answered pertly. "I call it a camouflage."

This time everyone laughed at Steve. Score one for me, I thought. The door of 'Wonder Ice' opened and Dana, followed by a sun-tanned muscled-bound meathead, walked out. She shriveled her perfect little nose at me. But this time I would not let Dana make me feel like some Miss Muffet. "Hi, Dana," I said. "Look at the flowers I'm taking to Drew. Did you see anything so enormous in all your life?"

"Wow!" exclaimed the meathead with a friendly laugh. "I'll bet he'll be surprised."

I giggled despite of everything. "Not half as much as I was when I saw it."

"You mean you're taking Drew flowers after he took someone else to the dance?" Dana asked, flicking her hair and looking at me with her cold eyes. "Seriously?"

And meow to you too, Dana, I thought, but I smiled at her. "Why not? He could hardly break a date he had made before he met me, could he?"

The girl looked surprised. "No… I suppose not…" she trailed off.

Score two for me, I thought and smiled sweetly. "Drew told me all about it."

Dana blinked. "Oh."

That takes care of that. Good-bye, Miss Muffet. Good-bye forever. "And now if you gentlemen will step aside, I'll be on my way," I said to the crowd of boys.

The boys parted and I saw Chelsea walked out to me. "May!" she hissed in horror. "Are you… you're not-"

"Yes," I answered calmly. "I am."

"Why didn't you get it delivered?" she whispered to me once she reached my side.

"Because they won't deliver anything under five dollars," I answered. "And being me, I didn't find out until it was too late."

"Do you want me to go with you?" asked Chelsea.

"Its okay, Chels," I answered. Actually I would have been grateful for Chelsea's company but I made up my mind to see this thing through and I was going to see it through without any help from anyone. "I can peek through this, you know. I don't need someone to guide me. But thanks anyway for the moral support."

"Say, I'll walk with you," offered a boy with wet tendrils of dirty blonde hair and a surfboard clutched onto his hand.

"No, thanks," I answered and smiled at the crowd. "Bye now."

"Funny, I've never noticed her before," I heard the surfer remark as I walked away from the crowd.

A delicious feeling of satisfaction flowed through me as I proceeded behind my flowers towards the hospital. I had been myself, May Maple, and no one else. It hadn't been easy, but it had worked! People turned to stare at me, cars tooted at me, but I didn't care. I only smiled and went on my way, past the shops, down a shaded street, and up the stairs of Bay Hospital.

Inside, everyone – doctors, nurses, visitors – stopped to stare at me and to smile as if highly amused. But I just returned the smiles, relieved that my ordeal was nearly ended. I propelled my bouquet across the lobby to the information desk where, free of it at last, I set the flowers down on the counter. "I would like to leave this for Drew Hayden," I told the woman behind the counter.

The attendant, obviously trying to suppress a smile, flipped through a file of cards. "Oh I'm sorry, but Mr. Hayden was discharged this morning," she informed me.

"So soon?" I groaned in dismay, wanting to shout in frustration.

"Yes, we don't keep them long nowadays," explained the attendant, glancing at the card again. "But you can reach him at 17 Poppy Lane."

My confidence wavered. "17 Poppy Lane," I repeated blankly. From the map that I had studied earlier, that was only three blocks away. There was nothing to do now but go ahead and deliver the flowers to his house. If I didn't, Drew would hear about them from that crowd at the ice-cream shop and wonder why he never received them. Stifling a sudden urge to just scream in agony at my luck, I picked up the flowers once more. Here we go again; I thought and advanced behind my bouquet across the lobby, out of the hospital and down the street toward Poppy Lane.

When I reached Drew's block, a stocky little girl about eight years old, with grubby dark green hair and sun-flecked hazel eyes, who had been roller-skating aimlessly up and down the sidewalk, darted up to me.

"Why are you carrying that for?" she demanded.

"Because," I answered, not bothering to really explain everything to her.

"Because why?" persisted the girl.

"I'm taking them to a sick friend," I told her at last.

"Oh, my brother had his appendix taken out. He just came out from the hospital today!" the girl exclaimed, beaming and showing her two missing front teeth.

I lowered my bouquet for a better look at her. There was a resemblance in the face features and although her eyes weren't emerald green like Drew's, I could tell that they derived from the same family.

"Oh!" exclaimed Drew's little sister. "I'll bet you're taking those flowers to my brother!"

I had nothing left to do but admit. "Yeah," I answered, with a breathless smile. "I am."

The girl's face lit up with excitement. "Wow!" she exclaimed and darted off, her skates going _ching-chung_ against the cement. At number seventeen, which was a huge red-bricked mansion with a big garden in front and plants shaped like different animals; the girl turned and clomped up the marble porch steps. "Hey Mom!" she yelled as she threw open the big wooden front door. "Come quick! Somebody's bringing flowers to Drew and it's a girl!"

I squelched an urge to fling my flowers into the gutter and run. But it was too late for that. With my cheeks flaming, I marched bravely up the steps of Drew's mansion of a house and reached the front door just as Mrs. Hayden appeared. There I was, face to face with Drew's mother. From behind my floral screen I wanted to faint, disappear in a puff of smoke, drop dead, anything to get out of this awful situation. Instead I stared, as if stricken, over the spikes of gladiolas at this unknown person, Drew's mother.

She was a woman in her mid-thirties with bright green eyes and matching soft-looking chartreuse hair. She was dressed very smartly, in a black tweed dress, tan stockings despite of the hot weather and black high-heels. I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking whether she was going to a formal occasion. So different compared to the carefree, dirty and pink-faced little girl.

Mrs. Hayden smiled at me, revealing her pearly teeth as she stepped closer to me so that I could smell her expensive perfume. "What lovely flowers!" she exclaimed, her voice warm and friendly. "And how thoughtful of you to bring them to Drew."

"I-I meant him to have them at the hospital," I said shyly. Now, I'm not a shy person, but the whole aroma of these rich people made me twitter. "I didn't know he would leave so soon."

"They don't keep patients long in hospitals after operation these days," Mrs. Hayden explained. "Here, let me take the flowers."

Gratefully, I surrendered my burden.

"Drew's taking a nap right now," Mrs. Hayden went on, as if receiving a gaudy floral piece from a strange girl were not at all unusual. "But won't you come in?"

"Well, no – thank you," I said uncertainly. "I think I had better be going home. My-my aunt is expecting me."

Mrs. Hayden smiled warmly at me across the flowers. "You must be May Maple."

"Um, yes, I am," I admitted and wondered what Drew had said about me to his family.

"Drew speaks about you often," Mrs. Hayden remarked. "You must come over and have dinner with us sometime."

"I-I'd love to," I stammered, not sure whether to be pleased or embarrassed of this sudden offer.

"Boy, does Drew like you!" the little sister exclaimed to me. "He always spends about an hour in the bathroom checking on how he looks before he goes to see you!"

"Jayni!" Mrs. Hayden exclaimed with a laugh.

"Well he does," persisted Jayni. "He says-"

"Jayni!" Mrs. Hayden's voice held a warning.

I felt my face flush even redder. "Um, please tell Drew that we all miss him," I said and turned to leave.

"Thank you so much for the flowers, May," Mrs. Hayden called over to me. "It was thoughtful of you to bring them to Drew and I know he'll be pleased."

"I hope so," I replied, more at ease with this woman. It was as though she understood how difficult it was to be seventeen. "Bye, Mrs. Hayden."

"Good-bye, May."

"See ya!" called Jayni as I walked down the marble steps. "Gosh, Mom, did you ever see such a _big_ bunch of flowers?"

I walked sedately down the street and around corner from Poppy Lane, but I didn't feel at all sedate. I wanted to run and skip and shout. My nightmare was over! I hadn't acted like Miss Muffet when the gang from the beach had tried to tease me. Mrs. Hayden had been friendly and had not laughed at me and, best of all; I learned that Drew liked me enough to talk about me to his family. Maybe I had, in my usual way, done all the wrong things, but everything had turned out all right. And Drew actually cared how he looked like when he came to see me!

"Hi, Aunt Vicki," I greeted my aunt cheerfully as I walked into the house.

My Aunt looked up from sewing a bunch of sequins on a plain yellow blouse and smiled at me. "Did you have a nice day?"

"Mm-hmm. Good and bad. Mostly good though," I told her as I sat beside her on the couch and flipped on the television. A man with dark blue hair came on, advertising about some detergent. He kind of reminded me of my Dad. I wonder what Dad would think if he found out that his little girl was going about town, delivering flowers to a boy. I wouldn't bet on his being pleased though.

The telephone rang and I got up from the couch. "I'll get it," I said and walked over the small table where the phone lay, picking up the receiver. "Hello?" I spoke blithely, for once not at all caring who was on the other end.

"Hey there." It was Drew. He was calling so soon!

"Oh hi!" I answered eagerly. It was nice to hear his voice once more.

"Do you give everyone flowers that big or am I the lucky few?" he asked and I could feel his infamous smirk. Does he always have to be such an arrogant… _freak_?!

"It's the thought that counts," I snapped. His mother was so friendly and warm but the son had to be such a pain.

"I was just kidding," Drew answered with a small chuckle. "They're pretty, don't worry."

"I'm glad you like them," I replied monotonously.

"Are you still mad?" he asked in a teasing voice. "Okay, I have the bouquet here in my hands right now. Does that make you feel better?"

I smiled and restrained myself from laughing. "You're let off this time," I told him.

"Of course I am," Drew replied, his big ego visible. "I _am_ the charming hot guy, now aren't I?"

Ugh, he was just so annoying. "Yeah, sure," I said sarcastically, and then added in a serious tone, "Are you… mad at me for that… _thing _last week?"

"Hmm…" he pretended to think to himself. "Maybe."

"C'mon, I'm serious!" I exclaimed.

"Don't trip," he said, in a more serious manner. "I guess I _was _sorta mad. But… well… it was because I wished it was me instead of Steve." He practically whispered out the last words but I caught them.

"Oh," was all I can say. I could feel myself blush and my neck turned hot.

Drew cleared his throat at the other end. "Um, yeah," he said his confidence not so visible anymore. "Don't let it get to your head."

"What?" I practically shrieked. He just ruined the moment! "Why would I even want to kiss you?!"

"Because I'm a hot jerk and you can't help but love me?" Drew suggested.

"I-I hate you!" I screamed loudly enough for even my Aunt to turn her head to see what was going on. "Oh yes, I_ hate_ you, Drew Hayden. _Sooo_ much!"

"Replace the hate with love and you might get a true sentence," Drew replied, not at all wavered by my shrieks. "Anyway, I just called to say thanks."

"Well you're not welcome," I snapped.

Drew chuckled. "Whatever you say, princess," he paused and there was a sound of someone shouting something. "My Mom's calling me for dinner. See you soon."

"Bye," I mumbled and hung up the phone.

After a moment of staring at the phone, I smiled to myself. Drew had wanted to kiss me. That was all that mattered.

……………………

_If Drew was sorta OOC, sorry! :-) In about two more chapters, this story's gonna be finished! I'm so excited, haha. :D Hope you liked the chapter. Review please! _

_- Suzie :o)) _


	9. Perfect

**[Chapter 9]**

[The Perfect Summer]

_UnreachableRomance _

…………………………………

Drew called me a lot during these few days and I felt like I was floating on seventh heaven. Even my aunt questioned why I was so happy lately. I just smiled back and said that life was dandy. It turned out that my streak of good luck wasn't ending anytime soon. Drew had informed me on one of our phone calls that there was going to be a steak bake at his high school in two weeks time to celebrate the end of summer. He also said that he would be better by then and asked me to go with him! Of course, I complied.

However; after I turned to the calendar to mark down the day of the steak bake – I felt my heart drop. Summer really _was _ending. I would be going back to Petalburg just a day after the date with Drew. The steak bake would be our last time to spend together. . .

The next two weeks passed by quickly for me. It did not take long for the story of my walk behind the screen of gladiolas and delphiniums to spread through Sea City. Everyone laughed at the story – but the laughter was friendly. And all because I kept my head up during the whole awful thing. If I had walked down the street cringing with embarrassment, everyone would be making fun of me now. Instead, boys I didn't even know would grin as if they recognized me as they passed me by the boardwalk and called out, "Hi there! Picked any petunias lately?" or "How are things in Birnam wood?" Girls said, "How did you _ever _do it? Didn't you just _die _of embarrassment?" I would just smile as if amused.

And the best thing was that Drew called every day at four o'clock and I spend a happy hour on the telephone saying nothing in particular, just talking. I longed for the day that I could see him again, free from the listening ears of my aunt and his little sister. Of course, I had reminded him that I was leaving just after the steak bake – but he told me not to keep that in mind. Just enjoy the time here. Yeah, that sure is easy to say.

It seemed in no time at all until the evening arrived and I was actually alone with Drew, riding toward Woodmont Prep School with him in his blue car. He was even better-looking than I remembered. His profile was clean-cut and his skin a scrubbed golden tan. The evening was warm, and he was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing his identification bracelet on his strong right wrist – a bracelet that he might some day ask me to wear. I felt a rush of butterflies flutter through my stomach, just thinking about it. I glanced down at his shoes. Even by the dim light of the dashboard, I could see that they had been polished until they gleamed. I smiled to myself and felt some of my old shyness return. I had been at ease talking with Drew on the telephone, but now that I was beside him, I couldn't think of nothing to say.

Drew took his eyes off the road long enough to glance down at me. "This beats walking, doesn't it?" he remarked.

I laughed. "Sure does."

"You know something?" said Drew. "The first time Steve and I took you out, Dad said I had to be in by ten-thirty. And because it was in such a short notice, I didn't take the car to my post. I was worried about how I was going to get you home and still get home myself before ten-thirty. I knew Dad wouldn't care if I came in five or ten minutes late, but it was cutting things pretty close. So I took a chance and seeing a bicycle parked behind your shrubbery, I took it and rode it home. Steve's house was pretty close by so he didn't have to worry about anything. But I was scared that anyone would see me. I didn't want you to think that I was just a kid, stealing people's bicycles and riding around."

I blinked and laughed to myself as something came into my mind. "Oh! So _that's _why Uncle Bryan was complaining about losing his old bicycle!" I answered and laughed again. "But don't sweat – Aunt Vicki was happy about that. She thought the old rusty thing made her garden look ugly."

Drew laughed in surprise. "I can return it, if you want."

"I think we're all better off without it," I replied with a smile. "It's funny about bicycles. I never ride mine anymore. For some reason, when you're in high school it won't do to be seen riding a bicycle because you need it to get someplace, but it's all right to ride one for fun if you don't really need to. Like going on a picnic or something."

"That's right," agreed Drew. The first time he _ever _agreed to anything I say. "That's exactly how it is." Then we smiled at each other, pleased to have shared this understanding. I felt sorry that we were going to the steak beak. It was so wonderful to be with Drew once more. I wanted to ride on and on through the warm summer evening.

Drew parked his car at the space in front of the high school, where most cars were already there and went around to help me out. A noisy crowd was gathered under the lights around the barbecue pits, and the smell of cooking steak mingled with the fragrance of the bay and redwood trees.

"I'm starved," said Drew. "Come on, let's join the others."

I felt a bit strange because I was a new face in this school but then, it was also quite pleasing to have Drew by my side as my date. In case you were wondering, the school was _huge. _I can tell that it was a Prep school without looking at its name. The field where the steak bake was held in was enormous and there were rich people all around, laughing and enjoying their time. They were all gorgeous people! I wonder what Drew saw in me.

"Hey Drew!" "Yo, Drew! My man!" "Drew! You lookin' great, dude!" "Who's that chick beside you?" The crowd welcomed 'us'. I can so tell that Drew was famous around here.

"Hey everyone," said-boy casually replied and flicked his hair as if he was bored with all the attention. I just smiled awkwardly beside him. At least not many girls had dates for the senior class steak bake.

A man with short brown hair and khaki pants (whom I was later told was Mr. Degenkalb, a history teacher who was the harried class advisor) was herding the crowd into a line beside the barbecue pits where the steaks were sizzling on grates over open fires. The muscle-bound meathead from the other day, together with another boy, was turning the steaks with pitchforks. Drew and I took our place in line and picked up knives and forks and paper plates.

"Hey, you two," said Steve, who was serving salad. "I'm on garbage detail."

"It seems to me like you're serving salad," Drew answered dryly as I held out my plate. I was _starving _and the aroma of the steaks wasn't helping.

"You know how salad turns into garbage when it's been sitting around a couple of hours," Steve answered. "That's why I'm on garbage detail." He ladled some limp greens onto Drew's plate. "Have some tossed green salad. Take it and chuck it into the trash can," he then bowed his head. "Thank you and come again."

"Steve, you're awful," I laughed.

"Come on, May," whispered Drew. "Let's not go sit at the tables with the others. I know a place."

My smile was the answer. Now I knew that he wanted to be alone with me as much as I wanted to be alone with him. Carrying the paper plates of food, we walked through the football field and to a small, reserved area with an artificial stream of water. There were two big rocks near the trickle of water. It was a perfect spot to be with Drew. There was even a full moon rising through the bay trees. I sat down on my rock with a sigh of pleasure. It was a beautiful, romantic moonlit night. It's a shame that I was leaving tomorrow. I felt a lump arise at the back of my throat and I pushed the subject out of my head.

"I guess Jason, the janitor forgot to turn on the water," Drew observed, settling himself on his rock. "But at least it's wet."

"It's pretty," I assured him as I eyed my steak. It was large and thin and overhung the edges of the paper plate. It did not look like any cut of meat Mom had ever ordered from Jake's Market. I set my plate on my knees and took a bite of cold scalloped potato. Maybe if I ate my potatoes first there would be more room for the steak on my plate. I sampled the salad and swallowed it slowly. Steve was right.

Here goes, I thought, and sawed at the steak with the cafeteria knife. Nothing happened to the steak but the pressure of the knife bent the paper plate. Gingerly, I tried another side of the steak. This time I was succeeding in separating a morsel of meat, which I put into my mouth. That was my mistake. I chewed and chewed and chewed. From the tables by the barbecue pits I could hear laughter and chatter from the crowd, snatches of song, cries of "Speech!" We were missing the fun, but I didn't care. I was alone with Drew. Alone and chewing.

Drew smirked at me but he, too, was occupied with chewing. He gulped and turned to me. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" he asked, changing his tone and looking into my eyes.

I stopped chewing. I hadn't expected this from Drew so soon, before he had finished his steak.

"Isn't it, May?" he persisted, as if my answer were important to him.

I gulped and swallowed my meat whole. "Yeah, it is," I said nervously. The moment was so terribly important. "It's a good cat-fight night."

Drew looked so startled that I immediately regretted the words that had slipped out. "I mean – that's something we always say at home when there's a full moon," I said and wished I hadn't. Now I had to go on and explain why the Maples said a moonlit night was a good cat-fight night. "When Toby – uh, our cat – was younger, he always got into fights when there was a full moon. Now he goes out and hunts mostly. You know how it is. A good cat-fight night is sort of a family phrase." I was babbling and I knew it. Drew was looking into my eyes and I've ruined everything.

"Sure, I know," Drew replied, applying his knife to his steak. "At our house, we always call a clear windy day a good drying day. Sometimes there would be so much fog that Mom always had a hard time getting the washing dry, and almost every morning she would look out the window and say hopefully, 'Maybe today will be a good drying day.'"

I guess that ought to take care of the weather for a while; I thought and attacked the steak once more. As I sawed away, I glanced at Drew to see how he was managing and found him watching to see how I was cutting my meat. All at once, the humor of the situation struck me and I began to giggle. Drew relaxed and cracked a smile.

"At least tonight we know that we're eating meat," I remarked. "That night we had dinner in Chinatown, I didn't know what anything was. We had just walked past one of those herb shops that had all those weird-looking things in the window and a grocery store that had a tub full of snails and my imagination went to work. And I wanted to be so sophisticated too."

That earned a smirk from Drew. "I knew you weren't having a good time, but I didn't know it was _that_ bad."

I smiled and chewed my potatoes thoughtfully. I really had changed since that night in Chinatown. Tonight, only a month instead of ten years later, I could look back on that dinner at Cheng Wee Lang's and not only laugh but admit to Drew that I had tried to be sophisticated. And the first time I had a date with Drew, I had been so nervous that I could scarcely eat a dish of ice-cream, and now look at me. Here I was, sitting on a rock holding a tough piece of meat in my hands and gnawing it – and laughing about it.

"Look at the lovebirds over there by the stream," I heard someone on the nearby path say. I winced and hoped that Drew hadn't heard. He appeared to concentrating on chewing. I considered the size of the meat and the time it took to chew each bite. At this rate, if we were going to finish our steaks, we would have to take them along to the movie.

"I give up," Drew said, at last, setting his plate on a rock and wiping his hands on his paper napkin. "This is too tough for human consumption."

"I know," I agreed, as I searched for my paper napkin. I couldn't find it, so I set my plate aside and surreptitiously wiped my fingers on the edge of the paper plate. When I looked at Drew, he was rubbing one finger back and forth over the name plate on his identification bracelet.

"May . . ." he looked into my eyes.

I felt my heart pound. Nervously I moistened my lips.

"_There _you are!" shouted a voice behind us. It was Steve, with Chelsea beside him. "What are you trying to do? Hide? We've looked all over for you."

"Hi," Drew said, with no enthusiasm at all.

I flashed my best friend a 'Chelsea-how-could-you look', which Chelsea returned with an 'I-know-but-what-could-I-do' expression.

Steve sprang onto a rock and with a sweeping gesture of his right hand, proclaimed, "What is this atomic age we live in? May we by simply touching a button or turning a knob—"

"This isn't your public-speaking class," interrupted Drew with his hands across his chest.

Steve grinned. "No, but it's a good place to practice," he said in his ordinary voice, before he continued eloquently, "How can we prepare ourselves for what lies ahead?"

"Come on, Steve," said Chelsea. "We can prepare ourselves for the movie by finding seats."

The blonde ignored her. "Today's generation can be the salvation of tomorrow," he announced, with a sweep of his hand.

Darn Steve; I thought. He's doing this on purpose because he knows Drew and I want to be alone.

Drew glowered at Steve. "Come on, May, let's find a trash can for the remains."

"Four score and seven years ago—" Steve continued but stopped. "What's the matter, dude? Don't you like my public speaking?"

"No, I don't," Drew answered wryly.

"I'm cut to the quick," Steve said cheerfully. "Mr. Chairman, members of the faculty, and fellow students. I stand here before you today to ask you to consider the merits of adopting a twelve-month school year for Woodmont Prep School."

I flashed Chelsea a 'do-something-quick' look.

Chelsea flashed me an 'I'll-do-the-best-I-can' look. "Come on, Steve," she said. "The movie is about to start. Let's go and find good seats before they're all taken."

"Let it start," replied Steve, nonchalantly. "I found out what it's going to be."

"What's it going to be?" Chelsea asked.

"_The John Quincy Adams Story_," Steve said as he rolled his eyes.

I groaned. "Not really! Why did they have to go and choose something like that?"

"Probably because it is pure, high-minded and educational," replied Steve.

"Come on, May," Drew whispered. "Let's ditch the movie and go for a ride."

"Okay." My answer was eager. I couldn't bear the thought of sitting through a movie, any movie, on such a beautiful night. Not on my last day at Sea City. Not when I could be riding under the stars with Drew.

"Great idea, Drew," Steve said heartily. "Chels and I were wondering when you were going to ask us to go for a ride in that car."

"I didn't," Drew said flatly. "Come on, May. Let's go."

I clambered up the bank beside Drew and dropped my paper plate into a trash can. Steve and Chelsea followed close behind, and I hoped that Drew and I would be able to shake them. The senior class, unaware that they were about to see _The John Quincy Adams Story, _was assembling on the benches in front of a motion picture screen.

Mr. Degenkalb, still looking harried, was rounding up the stray members of the class. "Well, Drew, you're not trying to run out on us, are you?" he asked jovially.

"Well, uh—"

"Come on, there are plenty of good seats left," said Mr. Degenkalb, and herded Drew and I toward the benches. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Steve seize Chelsea by her arm and hurry her out of the field. From the sidewalk, he grinned and waved at us. That wolf! I thought bitterly.

"Let's sit in the last row," whispered Drew. "Then we can slip out as soon as they turn the park lights and the movie starts." We found seats on the end of a bench in the very last row, back under the redwood trees, and sat down, confident that we could get away soon. One by one, the lights blinked out and I sat poised on the edge of the bench, ready to flee with Drew to the privacy of his car.

"Say, Drew," whispered Mr. Degenkalb. "Would you mind moving over?"

Drew and I exchanged one stricken look. Silently, we moved over, and Mr. Degenkalb sat down beside Drew. I leaned back on the bench. There was no chance of getting away now. We were trapped. Trapped for all six or eight or maybe ten reels of _The John Quincy Adams Story. _I can't stand it; I thought. I simply cannot stand it. An entire evening wasted, an evening that I wanted to spend riding through the moonlight with Drew, the evening that I had waited for so long. For days I had dreamt of this date . . . Well, here they were. Trapped with Mr. Degenkalb and John Quincy Adams.

The title of the movie flashed on the screen and the senior class groaned. John Quincy Adams, secretary of state, and John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, moved before my eyes, but all I noticed were the magnified shadows of moths that flew between the projection machine and the screen. The senior class applauded widely for the moths. The bench grew harder by the minute. Even the rocks by the stream had seemed softer. Two by two, the members of the class slipped off the benches and, crouching low beneath the light of the projector, fled from the field.

I looked wistfully after these people, there fortunate escapees, who were dispersing to Wonder Ice or the Sea City Cinema, where a good movie was playing, or to their cars, and thought longingly of the front seat of Drew's car. If we could only get away we could drive up in the hills, where the night would be aromatic with the scent of eucalyptus trees. I would feel the wind in my hair, and when we came to Lookout Point . . .

I stole a glance at Drew. He was looking straight ahead and his expression was serious, as if he were absorbed in the activities of John Quincy Adams, as secretary of state.

And when we came to Lookout Point, my thoughts ran on. Drew would park the car so it faced the view of the bay and the city, and he would turn off the ignition and turn to me in the moonlight and say . . .

There was no point thinking about it, I told myself. Not when we were practically surrounded by Mr. Degenkalb. But I didn't know what else I could think about. Certainly not John Quincy Adams, not on a night like this. Everything had looked so hopeful when Drew and I were sitting on the rocks by the stream, but life never turned out the way I planned. And the worst thing was . . . There were no other dates left.

I felt Drew's hand brush mine, but when I looked up at him in the flickering light, he was staring straight ahead. I was surprised to feel his hand on my arm and more surprised – almost unbelieving – to see his fingers unclasp his identification bracelet and remove it from his arm. Silently he fumbled with the bracelet and slipped it around my right wrist. With a tiny click, he snapped the clasp shut. I gave a gasp of astonishment and turned questioningly to Drew. I was wearing his identification bracelet! The silver links on my wrist were still warm from his arm.

Drew leaned towards me. "Okay?" he whispered.

I only had the courage to nod and after my shock diminished, to smile radiantly at Drew, at John Quincy Adams, at the backs of the rapidly disappearing senior class. I really was wearing Drew's bracelet on my arm, something I had scarcely allowed myself to think about – at least, not often. It would be so far in the future, if it happened at all. And now it had happened, months before I had dreamed it could. My wrist felt small and feminine in the circle on the heavy silver links. Tenderly I caressed the letters of Drew's name with my finger tips.

Andrew Hayden.

The most egoistical but perfect boy in the whole world.

…………………………………

_Haha, yay! =] I think it's gonna drag on to TWO more chapters before the ending. M'kay? ;] I'm so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time. I was just checking this story today and thought; Dang, I need to update that. And so I did. :] Took me like 4 hours, but I kept my promise to myself! _

_  
Random Facts: _

_1. I do not hate John Quincy Adams. _

_2. John Quincy Adams share the same birthday as yours truly ;] _

_3. I went to John Quincy Adams Elementary School. :D _

_4. There may be a lot of errors so you put on your know-it-all caps and criticize me. Don't really care. _

_And number 5…_

_R E V I E W!_

_- Suzie x _


	10. The Memory of Love

Author's Note: 

Omg. Did you know what I just realized? I last updated this story, exactly ONE YEAR ago. :O I'm so sorry! GAH. I hadn't gotten around to write an update for this and every time I would fail. DX

**Chapter dedication: **_Contestshippingurl4eva _for sending me all of those ideas. :) I used little snippets from each of them and it made me get some inspiration. Here is your dedication as I promised. :) Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Special thanks to Samia and Adam for beta-reading. You both are amazing. :]

* * *

**[ The Perfect Summer ] **

[Chapter 10]

_SuzieQuaKes-UnreachableRomance _

* * *

After Drew had given me his bracelet, it seemed only a few minutes until the movie ended and the lights in the football field flickered on, one by one. It seemed to glow even more brilliantly than I had first noticed, washing over the entire atmosphere with a golden ray. I blinked several times to get used to the sudden brightness and I noticed that there were empty seats everywhere. All the couples had dashed out. Only some that were making out behind the shadow of the projector remained. But I didn't mind. I never would have thought that I would enjoy a John Quincy Adams movie. And it wasn't at all because of John Quincy Adams.

"Well, Drew." I heard Mr. Degenkalb say, cutting into my thoughts. He grinned at us in a devilish sort of way. "It was a pretty good movie, wasn't it?"

Dreamily, I wondered how Drew would answer. But all he did was laugh casually—that laugh that made my insides melt—before saying: "Yeah, especially the parts played by the moths." Then he took me by the hand—something which he had never done before. It was needless to say that I was screaming inside. His larger, tanner hand fitted so perfectly with mine. "Come on, May. Let's get out of here." And then he pulled me through the field to where his car was parked in front of the high school.

And finally after hours—no, days—of waiting, I was alone with Drew. I climbed into the passenger seat and looked at my watch by the moonlight. My heart sank from what I saw. "Drew." I wailed, when I saw the time. "It's twenty-five minutes past ten. I have to go home." Only five more minutes to be with Drew. This was the way things always turned out for me. Although I didn't realize, that John Quincy Adams movie sure took a lot of time.

Drew started the car, completely ignoring my grief. He pulled off of the parking space and we drove away from the school, heading down Blossom Street, towards the beach. The road was completely clear except for a few cars that were leaving from the steak bake. I was drawn away from gazing at the road when Drew suddenly called my name. "May." His voice was urgent, above the sound of the model-A motor. "Do you know what it means to wear a guy's bracelet?"

My heart started to boom against my rib-cage. I had been kind of expecting him to mention something about the bracelet. "Yes." I answered breathlessly.

"It means that you're going steady."

"I know."

"You really want to?"

"Yes, Drew. I really want to."

Drew turned to look at me as the car stopped at a red light. His green eyes were sparkling under the moonlight like two emeralds. And I had a strange feeling of wanting to reach out and kiss him. But I suppressed myself. "Even if summer is ending?"

"Even if summer's ending." I murmured and touched the bracelet, my fingers running across the carved name. _Andrew Hayden. _I looked up at smiled gently. "This thing—what we had—wasn't just a summer fling for me. Was it for you?"

The traffic light flickered green, and he started to drive down the road again. But before the sound of the motor drowned out his voice, I heard one thing that I needed to hear: "No. It wasn't."

The rest of the ride back to my aunt's place was in silence. A content silence. I knew we were getting closer and closer back to the beach as palm trees started to pop into view. I didn't want the night to be over. But before I knew it, the car was stopped in front of the familiar white beach house. "I wish it wasn't so late." He was saying as he ran around the car to open the door for me. He took my hand in his as we went up the walk together. Halfway to the house, Drew stopped and turned, placing his hands on my shoulders and turned me around towards him. "I'm glad we're going steady. Even if you're leaving to Petalburg tomorrow."

"Me too." And in spite of everything that we had encountered, I suddenly felt shy.

"When is your flight?"

"Six in the evening."

"Care to join me for one last date? Anywhere you want this time."

I smiled at him and nodded. I felt so light. As light as air. Everything had turned out perfectly. "Yes. Of course. I'll call you."

"Not if I call you first." Drew smirked at me, and it seemed strange yet so right to be _that _close to Drew, to feel his crisp clean shirt against my cheek. To smell his scent of cologne and peppermint. I couldn't look up at him anymore. He was just too close. But gently, Drew lifted my face to his. "You're my girl now."

My fingertips started to become icy-cold and my mouth was as dry as a cotton ball. But before anything happened, of course, that moment had to be destroyed as we both heard the strange, muted cry of a neighborhood cat that had successfully stalked a gopher. I stiffened. A bright orange cat appeared from the shrubbery and tossed his catch into the air so that it landed with a thud at my feet. Crying insistently, the cat hovered over his prey.

I felt Drew start to pull away from me and my heart sank. Here was another excellent moment, getting ruined by this stupid cat. But Drew surprised me, hesitating slightly before he quickly bent his face to mine. Our noses bumped, but our lips met tenderly, clumsily, one side of his mouth against one side of mine. I hadn't known a boy's lips could be _so _soft. It was our first kiss—a moment to cherish.

Persistently, the cat cried over his gopher. A window flew open, and I stepped away from Drew. The beam of a flashlight played over the yard and settled on the cat and his catch. "My, that's a big one!" I heard the voice of Aunt Vicki, still pretty much half-asleep. The cat, satisfied that his good work had been recognized, silently picked up his gopher and disappeared into the bushes.

"Oh, hello Drew! And May!" Aunt Vicki sounded bewildered. "You're back already?"

"Yes, Aunt V."

"Well, I guess I better be going now." Drew said awkwardly.

"Good night, Drew." I said softly. "I had a wonderful time."

"Me too." Drew started down the slope of steps, towards his car. His chartreuse hair softly glowed in the moonlight. I heard the sound of the waves washing up against the shore. It was such a perfect and beautiful night. It was a shame that I would be leaving for boring old Petalburg the next day. But I knew that I would be telling all of my friends about Drew and how utterly _perfect _my summer vacation was.

"Good night, Drew!" Aunt Vicki called and he turned back as he reached his car.

"Good night." He smiled and gave a little wave as he opened the door of the blue convertible. "I'll call you, May."

Smiling to myself, I turned and walked towards the house. My aunt opened the door for me and grinned. Her blond hair was everywhere and she had on candy-cane striped PJs. Typical Aunt Vicki. She threw an arm around my shoulder after locking the front door.

"Did you have fun?"

I nodded and leaned against her body, closing my eyes for a slight moment. "Yeah." I breathed out. "It was wonderful."

She kissed my head and led me up the stairs. The little house was dark, except for the stair-light that my aunt switched on. She pulled me close to her so that I could smell her scent of lavender. "He's going to miss you more, kiddo."

I looked up at her and smiled, not saying anything. But after I was in my room, I lit a candle and headed towards the open window. The moon was shining bright and stars filled the midnight-dark sky. The same sky that looked down on Drew and I at the little stream where we chewed tough steaks. A part of me wished the night could have gone on forever. But I well knew that it was wonderful and I didn't dare hope for more than my one perfect kiss. Reaching for more would have been like trying to keep a snowflake from melting, a soap bubble from popping.

I breathed in the heavy, sweet air of the ocean and wiped away a single tear. One last look was all that I wanted. For it was there, in the heavens, that I'd be able to recapture that very same feeling I had on my aunt's front porch. I quickly removed my headband and earrings, set them onto the dressing table and blew out the candle. And when I saw a trace of a glowing star falling across the sky, I closed my eyes and made my wish. I wished that what my aunt had said was true. I wished that Drew would miss me more than I would miss him.

And when I opened my eyes, there was only night, and stars, and the memory of love.

* * *

"May Maple, I will miss you to death. I swear. Why are you leaving? Stay in Sea City with me, Steve and Drew."

I smiled at Chelsea as I was packing things up. She sat cross-legged on my bed, looking at me with her huge eyes in this way that made me feel guilty for returning back to Petalburg. "I really wish I could, Chels. I seriously do. I love it here!" I returned to carefully folding my clothes and stuffing them into my duffel bags, only leaving a dress for the date with Drew that afternoon and a sweatshirt and jeans for the plane ride back home. My heart tugged as I gathered all of my stuff. It seemed like only yesterday that I unpacked.

"Promise to write me emails and tell me everything that's going on in your life?"

I smiled at my dark-haired friend as she wore a pout on her face. "I promise. You update me about starting school and how things are with Steve and keep an eye out for Drew, all right?" I was only kidding, of course. I knew that Drew wasn't going to be cheating on me. And even though it was a long-distance relationship, we both were determined to make it work out.

That made Chelsea laugh as she played with strands of her black hair. "Definitely."

We shared a smile, and I knew that I was really going to miss Chelsea's company. I was going to miss _everything _about Sea City. Although I spent only about two months, it felt like home. And while I _was _kind of excited about seeing my parents, Max and my friends again, I was leaving my new friends and boyfriend behind. Thinking about Drew made me smile as I wondered what Dad would be like if he found out that not only did I talk to boys but I had a steady _boyfriend_.

"Let's start getting ready for the date." I told Chelsea, leaving the piles of clothes and walking up to sit beside her on the bed. Drew and I thought that it would be good to have a double date because I wanted to see all of us before I left. Of course, it was going to be nothing like that Chinese dinner we had almost a month back. We were going to meet them at Hercules' Hot Dogs at three and then walk down the boardwalk. And afterwards, I would go back to the house, change, get my stuff and then head off to the airport together with my friends, Aunt Vicki and Uncle Bryan.

I could not believe how fast two months had passed.

"Sure." Chelsea hopped up and gave me a smile. "But this time, I'm not going to borrow your clothes. I have the perfect thing to wear. Just wait here."

I laughed. "Okay." And Chelsea winked at me before running out of my room to get her "perfect" date wear. As I waited for Chelsea, I smoothed out what I was going to be wearing. It was a very simple red cotton dress, sleeveless, with a flower pattern on the hem. I didn't want to over-do anything. And if this date—like any other of the dates we had—was going to go all wrong, I couldn't care less. I had what I wanted. And regardless of anything else, I was going to remember this summer forever.

"Here we are! What do you think?"

I was brought back into reality by Chelsea's voice, sounding enthusiastic. She was standing at my door, holding out a violet dress with a little copper coat over it. I gasped, raising my eyebrows. "That's so gorgeous! Steve is going to die when he sees it."

"Hopefully not." Chelsea laughed. Her pretty hazel eyes were full of life and happiness. I could tell that she really liked Steve. And although that guy might be a bastard at times, I knew that he cared a lot for her too.

Chelsea and I spent almost an hour—from two until quarter to three—getting ready to see Drew and Steve. We both were satisfied with our clothes, but we kept on thinking of other '_important' _things to do.

"I better file my nails." Chelsea was saying. "They're all ragged."

"I better put on nail-polish." I replied, looking at my nails in disgust. "I've got pink sparkles and yellow sparkles. You wanna borrow the yellow?"

"Sure! Oh shoot. I should put on hand lotion."

"My perfume!" I cried. "Did I pack it already? Where is it?"

"Don't ask me. Do you have any lip gloss?"

"Sure. Here . . . Ew! Oh my God. _Look _at my hair!"

"Yours? Look at mine!"

And somehow though, we were on our way to the boardwalk at two-forty-five and standing in front of Hercules' at five minutes to three. The boys showed up promptly at three and Chelsea elbowed me when she saw them heading towards us. "Doesn't Steve look great?" she whispered excitedly.

He did look great, with his blond hair all spiked up and looking completely clean-shaven. But I thought Drew looked even better. I didn't say so, of course. Drew was wearing an olive green polo shirt (which matched his hair) and board shorts. Totally cool.

"Hey, you." He smirked at me, taking my hand.

"Hi." I answered and smiled. "Hi, Steve. I'm glad you could come tonight."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Steve answered with a grin. "I can't believe you're leaving, May! Man, seems like only yesterday that I met you at the beach."

I laughed as we entered the restaurant. It wasn't really that crowded, as it was between lunch and dinner time but there was still a fair amount of people. "Yeah, I was thinking the exact same thing. Are you guys hungry?"

"Starved." Steve answered. "Let's eat!"

Hercules' main feature was hot dogs that really were an entire foot long. We sat at the counter and gave our orders to a waitress. Chelsea and I ate about two thirds of our food. They boys actually finished their hot dogs. Then they finished our food. Then they ordered another dog. Chelsea began to look a little green just by watching them eat. They kept slathering the dogs up with mustard, and dumping spoonfuls of sauerkraut on them, while Steve told the longest joke in the history of comedy.

In order to get Chelsea's eyes off the hot dogs, I nudged her and murmured. "Chels?"

"Yeah?" she whispered.

"Would it be okay with you if Drew and I went off by ourselves for a while? I mean—would you feel okay about being alone with Steve?"

Chelsea shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, of course. Have fun."

I grinned. If we hadn't been sitting in the middle of Hercules' Hot Dogs, in front of Drew and Steve scarfing down the hot dogs, I would have hugged her. At last, the boys finished the last bite of the foot-long hot dog and we left Hercules'.

"What do you want to do now?" Steve asked, running a hand through his hair. We were back onto the boardwalk where people were gradually starting to fill. I could smell popcorn and cotton-candy. The music of a merry-go-round blared out from across the pier. A couple of kids burst out giggling as they tried to throw darts to the balloons. I smiled a little. It reminded me of my first 'date' with Drew when he won me that teddy bear.

"Let's look around the stores." Chelsea replied with a smile. She flashed me a little look and I knew what it meant.

"I want to go to the arcade." I said, and so we split up just like I was hoping.

Drew and I played the dart-throwing game again. This time I won a baseball cap for him. It was green and white and had a picture of a dolphin printed in the center. Drew told me that it looked tacky, but nonetheless he wore it. And he won a couple plastic beaded necklaces which he gave me. They were pretty and shiny. And it must have been beginner's luck (or maybe beginner's _love_), because after that we played three other games and didn't win anything.

"Let's walk around," I suggested. I liked just looking at the lights and listening to the boardwalk sounds and smelling the boardwalk smells.

Before long, we stopped in front of a shell shop and peered in. "Come on." Drew pulled at my hand and led me inside the shop. Inside, there were shelves and bins full of nothing but seashells. I was pouring through a box of tiny conch shells when Drew suddenly handed me a paper bag.

"What's this?" I asked and he shrugged his shoulders.

"A little something. Open it."

And so I did. Inside, there was a shiny pale pink shell. I took it out and held it in my palms, the shell fitting perfectly onto my hand. I took a sharp intake of air as I realized that there were no dents, no broken pieces, nothing but perfection.

"It's to remember me by." Drew said with a little smirk. "Not that anybody forgets Drew."

I shriveled my nose at him but for some reason I couldn't smile. I felt like crying instead. Maybe Drew sensed it, because he squeezed at my hand. "No crying." He looked into my eyes and winked. "You don't look pretty when you cry."

I was about to hit him with something when he suddenly tugged my hand and pointed at something. "Hey, there's the Tunnel of Luv! Let's buy tickets for it."

The Tunnel of Luv was like no ride I had ever been on. It wasn't noisy, it didn't jerk you around corners and nothing jumped out at you. Drew and I sat side by side in this boat that was shaped like a swan and floated lazily through a dark tunnel in which soft music was playing. I didn't think that Drew Hayden would have thought that the ride was romantic, but just before we left the tunnel; he leaned over and kissed me gently.

And I smiled to myself as the ride ended. I knew that I would never forget Sea City or the boardwalk or the Tunnel of Luv.

Or Drew.

I would never, _ever _forget Drew.

* * *

_-Suzie x_


End file.
